Kingdom Hearts: Heather's Story
by RandomNumbers523156
Summary: The Keyblade has chosen its master, but will this be the right choice? Complete.
1. Dream

**Author's Note – 02/05/2011: **Changed some aspects, the preface is now on the end, because it is that huge. _Simple and Clean_ adaptation by Frequent Reader.

**Author's Note – 01/01/2013: **Changed the title from Kingdom Hearts: The One Wigged Angel to Kingdom Hearts: Heather's Story. The first title was supposed to be a pun on her wig and how it resembles Sephy's hair, but I think it to be simply awful now.

* * *

"I've been having these weird dreams lately, like is any of this real or not?" the girl thought before she hit the water. Her most perceptible characteristic was her hair, obviously was not her natural hair. Suddenly she also starts to hear music, coming from nowhere.

_Oh!_

Once Heather opens her eyes, she finds herself standing at the foot of the Dock of Shame on Camp Wawanakwa. She wonders how she got there before the sunlight blinds her.

Shading her eyes with her hand, she can make out the figure of LeShawna at the end of the dock, looking out towards the water.

Heather noticed the waters receding from under the dock, then looks forward as a tidal wave forms. LeShawna turns to face her, smirking as if the tidal wave meant nothing to her. She then extends her hand out to Heather, as if beckoning her. Heather then runs towards LeShawna as the tidal wave grew bigger and got closer until it splashed down on them.

Heather was suddenly underwater and pushed away. She opens her eyes to see LeShawna still standing there as if not affected by the water and still holding her hand out. Heather tries to swim towards her while holding on to her hair, but was pushed back by the strong currents.

Oh baby, don't go! Simple and clean is the way that you're making me feel tonight! It's hard to let it go!

Heather suddenly surfaces while holding on to her hair and noticed it was now sunset. Looking forward, she sees Harold and Izzy standing on the shore, waving at her. Heather just looks annoyed as she trudges up to land. When Harold and Izzy walk up to help her out, she waves them off. Gwen, who was at a distance, crosses her arms and rolls her eyes.

Izzy just cackles and Harold looked a little miffed. Soon, their attentions get redirected towards the sky. Heather notices this and turns to see what they were looking at. She sees several falling stars, but what really got her attention was the sight of herself falling from the sky. The odd thing was that this Heather's hair looked natural and was colored silver rather than the usual black.

Heather's eyes widened at the sight, then all of a sudden, she falls backwards into the water as if the ground beneath her vanished. Rather than hitting the water, the water turned into the sky and she was in freefall. Up above, she could see Harold and Izzy who appeared to be standing on an invisible floor looking at her in shock. Their images get faded out by water ripples.

Just as she falls past the sunset, Heather was soon in the water. Opening her eyes, she finds that she was able to breathe, then rights her body.

She felt her feet land on a floor. Heather looks about the darkness in confusion. When she took a step, the darkness on the floor suddenly scattered, turning into hundreds of white birds and revealing the lit up floor underneath. Once all the birds flew off, Heather looked down and could make out what looks like a circular platform depicting a picture of a dark-haired princess in a blue and yellow dress, and surrounded by smaller portraits of seven dwarves and several animals.

"Where am I?" the girl shouted.

"So much to do, so little time... Take your time. Don't be afraid. The door is still shut. Now, step forward. Can you do it, Heather?" a mysterious voice said, resounding through the area and confounding Heather.

"Do I have choice? But this is just a stupid crazy dream!" Heather said impatiently as she stepped forward. Then appeared three objects: a sword, a shield and a staff. The mysterious voice asked: "If you give it form... It will give you strength. Choose well."

Heather chose the sword. "The power of the warrior. It gives you strength to protect those surrounding you and yet it also to bring terrible destruction to the same one. Will you choose it?"

"Yes," Heather answered with a smirk in the face, "Terrible destruction, huh?…I can learn how to use this and show to some people what I think about them"

"This is your path". The sword disappeared, and the voice asked again Heather: "Now, if you chose something it is because you did not chose something. What will give up in Exchange?"

"Hmm… the shield, after all with a sword and a staff I have two offensive weapons and the best defense is the attack," and so she turned to the shield.

"The power of the guardian. With it you can form a wall to protect what you value most. And yet it can be shell you from everything else. You give up this power?"

"Yes! You don't need to ask again!" Heather answered, bothered.

The objects disappeared and the floor shattered. Heather fell in another platform, but this had a picture of another lady, with a long and white dress and a diamond tiara. "Ouch, how many times I have to fall?" she mumbled.

The sword she chose appeared in her hands. "Nice", she said as she swung the sword in the air. The voice said: "All right! You've got it. Use this power to protect yourself and others." Upon finishing the phrase, the creatures appeared. They looked like dwarves with antennas; their color was black like the tar, with glowing yellow eyes.

"What the hell are these things?" Heather cried. "They won't get me!" Heather attacked one with the sword, trying to repel it. With another tackle she defeated the first and it disappeared. She kept stabbing the creatures until they disappeared.

"Behind you", the voice alerted. More creatures were approaching by behind. One jumped in her back, but she grabbed and tossed in the floor, and finished it with the sword.

"How dare them?" Heather said pointing her sword to the others. "I don't know why these freaking creatures are attacking me, but there's one thing that they won't do: Stay alive!", and she went on their direction, quickly finishing them.

After defeating them, a dark void appeared and Heather went through. She was in another platform painted with a mosaic; a door was standing in the center. "A door, but it won't open", said Heather after trying to open the door. Heather turned around and saw a chest. She opened and saw a potion. "This must be useful", she wondered. The chest then disappeared. A crate and a barrel appeared. "There must be something inside them, like in the chest", and Heather destroyed them with her sword. "Nothing? That su… wait! The door opened"

Without finishing her mumbling, she noticed that the door opened and entered. "Wait, I know this place; it's the Abandoned Movie Lot, next to the trailers, exactly. Someone must be kidding with me, although this is just a stupid dream". She also noticed that some known people were there. She heard the voice once again:

"Hold on. The door won't open just yet. First, tell me more about yourself."

"What? You're spying me?"

Next to her was Courtney, she seemed to be in good humor. "Hello Heather. Let me ask something: What's most important to you?"

"Eh…"

"Hold on a second." Courtney took her PDA. "Hello Michael, what's up?... What?... Tell them if they bring Vietnamese lobster again, I'll sue them! I want Mediterranean lobster!", she said in an angry tone and turned her PDA off. "Sorry, stupid delivery service. Where was I? Oh yes, what's most important to you?"

Heather shrugged and answered "Being number one."

"Oh really! So do I! Wait, that means that we are rivals, why I'm even talking to you?" and she went to the other side, turning her nose up, not happy anymore.

"Loser!" Heather said as she walked out. In the Wild West set, she saw Owen stuck in a barrel, and some guys trying to help. "Owen, we will try to use syrup. Please, don't eat the syrup, I know that the syrup has a good taste, but you must control yourself. It will help to loose you," Tyler shouted, as DJ spilled the syrup inside the barrel.

"Thank you, guys," Owen replied, "I will not eat the sweet syrup until I get out from here"

"How did Owen get stuck there? And why syrup?" Heather asked, perplexed.

"It's a long story and the syrup was Duncan's idea," Tyler replied. Duncan was in the other side, sitting in a bench and holding a bag of popcorn as if he was waiting for something. "But, since takes a while for the detergent spill, I want to know something: What do you want out of your life?"

"Me? To be strong."

"I understand," he looked down, "Hey, Owen must be slippery enough. DJ, let's help him." The two guys pulled him and he finally got out. "Now I can lick the syrup, hehehe. Thank you again guys", Owen said, over the two guys. "You're welcome, but now can you stop to squeeze us?" Tyler asked, almost without air. Duncan was laughing loudly at the other side. Heather also laughed, but more discreetly.

"Oh yes, hehe," he said as he rise. "Boy, I was afraid when I was stuck in the barrel. By the way Heather, what are you afraid of?"

Heather thought for a moment, because she did not want to reveal her fears to everyone, and answered, "Being indecisive."

"Hmm… That doesn't seem so scary."

So Heather heard again the voice: "You want to be the first one in everything. You want to be the strongest. You are afraid to being indecisive. Your adventure begins in the dead of night. Your road won't be easy, but a rising sun awaits your journey's end."

Heather just frowned and said, "What? Is this a riddle? I hate riddles!"

"The day is nearer than you expect."

Heather was again in another platform. This time had a picture of a blonde lady with a purple dress, and more creatures appeared. She quickly defeated them, and a green circle appeared next to her. She stepped on it and she felt her energies being restored. "This must be a save point. I think I'll need it more in the future."

A stair appeared and Heather followed the trail to arrive in another platform. The platform had the picture of another lady, with a long yellow dress. "Why the platforms have these ladies? So strange…" Then, she noticed her shadow moving without her. The voice said "The closer you get to light, the greater your shadow becomes."

Her shadow rose from the floor transforming into a giant dark creature. The voice said: "But don't be afraid..."

"I'm not afraid!" Heather interrupted, but the voice answered, in its normal tone: "Yes, you are. And don't forget..."

Heather saw that there was nowhere to run. "Rats, fight is the only choice", she said to herself. The creature attacked first and plunged its hand on the floor. A great wave of darkness was formed and the smaller creatures emerged from the wave. Heather started to attack its hand, until the smaller creatures approached, and she stopped to attack the big creature to destroy the others. "Wow, what's it's going to do?" she said as it launched an energy blast into her direction, but she dodged it. Then, she had an idea: she climbed through its arm and attacked its head. The creature screamed and fell to the ground.

"I won?" she said in a uncertain tone. Then, a dark circle started to absorb her. She started to struggle, but the voice said: "But don't be afraid. You hold the mightiest weapon of all!"

* * *

**Preface, Disclaimer and Acknowledgments (not necessarily in this order)**

My KH/TDI, TDA crossover. Acknowledments (the place I came from, we always put this section in the start) I owe the inspiration to PsychoZeke, but this will not be a copy line per line of his ideas, and I'd like to highlight the differences: his story is AU and mine is more canon-like (this makes me a cannonist? hehe), I will use some Disney characters and I will include other companies replacing some worlds. I sent a PM to forewarn him and asking for use two of his ideas, but in the end I'll be using only one. Although I acknowledge his influence and from others, namely, KingdomKey23, with his amazing story with Nintendo characters, Cartoonfan4072, his replacement with Looney Tunes is awesome, although the project seems to be discontinued, AMX, which replaces with OCs, rewriting the entire story, and Jen the Cat, for doing a KH/TDI crossover too (well, there are many good KH crossovers, but I'm accompanying more those, closely). Also, HVK's story, it's huge and almost borders on crackfic, but it's a good one. And now, also Tyranno26, ckelef1 and ozsanlon's stories. I will try to do something different from the extant stories.

By the way, only recently I discovered that there is a way to modify the story after it is published so, it was pointed out to me (thx blueflower1594, you're awesome) that there's a relevant flaw in my story: my role swapping is confounding some readers. So I'm placing this note for clearing, here's the cheat sheet for the major role swaps: Sora-Heather, and Harold (since Sora and Heather's personalities are VERY different, Harold will have to take some actions, and he is one of the fews that tried to understand her, but Heather still is the protagonist), Riku-LeShawna (since LeShawna befriended Heather in the main series (I did not see that coming either, but in TDWT they seem to have reverted to their original state) she's good to play that role), Kairi-Izzy (that's mean I've dropped down the damsel in distress plot element, Izzy is an alien (no news at there) and a princess of heart as Kairi – and their relantionship is NOT a romantic one, but friendship). Also, this means that the plot will have the most elements from the original, but it will go for a different path. TDI/TDA did happen in this story, but not Celebrity Manhunt Special.

Also, I think I fixed the grammar problems, maybe there are some errors, but I expected to be standard deviation. My last version wasn't at Zero Wing or fake Pokemón Diamond level, or was it? If there are errors, I guess couldn't help myself until I discover this feature of modifying the story after it's published (although this should be used only to correct grammar, because if modify the plot, reminds too much from 1984).

All characters quoted or referenced in this fic belongs to their respective owners, I own nothing.

Other comment: using a bad character to replace Sora is something I didn't see on the extant stories. Heather was a villain in the first season, but in the second she was only the annoying complaining girl, by the way I think the second season lacked a villain (Justin, Courtney and Owen[in the last part], were antagonists, which is different, in my opinion), and she was more of an anti-hero in the third.

As a last comment, I realize now I could have much more things. I never bought the thing of the Princes of the Heart, so I just thought of using as crossover with Shrek, but since came BBS, I think I should have done better. But then, it came KH3D and everyone knows what happened.

Also, edited.


	2. State of the Union

**Updated A.N.: **I republished four chapters in a row, I didn't know how to use some features earlier. But this is the chapter, I hope you like. Even if you don't like, I thank you for using your time to read my story, :) Also, I tried to avoid the Zero Wing reference, but I couldn't resist...

* * *

"Wake up!" a voice said.

Izzy was licking Heather's face, like a dog. "Yuck! Stop!" she said, barely awaken.

"See, LeShawna, she is awakened," Izzy said this and stepped off the bus, jumping through the seats.

"Whaa… What happened?"

"Somebody set us up the bomb. C'mon Heather, everyone already left the bus, lazy girl"

"No, LeShawna! A huge and black creature was swallowing me, I couldn't breathe, I couldn't… Bomb?"

"Don't worry, it's just something Harold sent ma' email," LeShawna replied, rolling her eyes and grinning, "Still dreaming?"

"It wasn't a dream! Or was it? I don't know. What was that place? So bizarre…"

"You're starting to scare me again, girl."

"Whatever. Where's everyone?"

"I've just told you. Now they must be at the auditorium."

"Ok, but first I need a towel. I want to get rid of Izzy's saliva the faster I can. Ugh! Animals can transmit diseases through saliva!"

* * *

**Red Leaf Country**

It was two weeks after the end of Total Drama Action. Everyone was there, both contestants of the second season and guests from the Aftermath, and many of them were in the lot for the first time. Also there were two new guys: one was a girl, with a yellow shirt, jeans and pink hair, and the other was a boy with brown shirt and jeans. The winner of TDA, Beth, was also there. She was sitting in a chair at the platform, next to Chris and Chef.

Only LeShawna and Heather didn't get a sit, because they were late. Many of them glanced angrily at the wigged girl, and with reason: she was known by the deceitful practices in the first season, like kissing Trent to break up with Gwen, manipulating Beth and Lindsay, especially Lindsay, giving orders like a maniacal dictator, and simply being nasty and evil. Many considered her baldness an example of divine justice. She qualified for the second season and, since everyone knew her ways, she didn't have the chance of being the main antagonist again; Justin, Courtney and even Owen posed larger threats than her. Nobody believed her when she discovered that Gwen was handing over victories to the Grips. Being a very proud person, she refused aid from Harold and opportunities of excusing, which contributed for her elimination.

But the most twisting moment for her was the way she became friends with LeShawna, one of her most declared enemies, until then. She stood on LeShawna's side when she had ridiculed her friends in the Lame-o-shine, and LeShawna offered her friendship in the end of the day, which Heather promptly accepted (in her own way), in spite of the great rivalry between the two girls. Beside her, only her mother and, sometimes, Harold could be counted as friends of Heather.

"LeShawna, here! I kept your place," Harold waved. The two girls sat in the corner.

"Thanks, Harold!" she replied.

"I also bring you a bottle of water"

"Thank you, you're so nice!"

"And biscuits. And sandwiches. And beet pie. And…"

"Ok Harold, now shut it!" Heather said, annoyed.

Obviously, friendship wasn't the only reason why Heather was hanging out with LeShawna. She knew that almost everyone hate her, so LeShawna could be used as some kind of shield against them, after all LeShawna was one of the most popular campers in the show and could be very protective of her friends. And, although she didn't like to admit, she was afraid to lose her friend, that is, her only friend (but who knows what friendships means for her). LeShawna also was no Lindsay, she knew how to deal with Heather.

"Silence please!" Chris demanded with his microphone, "Good afternoon guys and gals! You might wonder 'Why did this gorgeous and hot TV host called us for the Abandoned Movie Lot?'"

"I don't think you're neither gorgeous nor hot," Eva interrupted.

"As I was saying," Chris continued, slightly offended, "The reason I called all of you is because this is the POST…TOTAL…DRAMA…ACTION…GAMES"

"What, another stupid season?" Gwen said, folding her arms. Everyone started to talk at same time, causing disorder in the auditorium.

"Guys, please, silence! Silence!" Chris unsuccessfully begged. Then, Chef Hatchet grabbed the microphone and ordered: "SILENCE!" It's needless to say that everyone became silent.

"Before you contact your lawyers," he said this having Courtney in mind, she was taking her PDA of her pocket, "I'd like to say that this special event is not a new season". Upon finishing the sentence, Courtney returned her PDA to its place.

"Instead," Chris continued, "I would like to invite Beth to explain"

Beth rose from her chair and took the microphone.

"Greetings everybody! I called everyone here because I've became friends with everyone, I mean, almost everyone and I'd like to share my joy with you"

Everyone started to wonder what this could mean.

"Oh, come on! This is not the State of Union address," said Duncan, indifferent, since he lost one million bucks to her.

"Don't worry Duncan," Beth giggled, "You can win a bigger prize, now you're single". She said this and winked to him. Duncan knew what this mean; his eyes opened wide and he gulped. Everyone was snickering, with exception of Harold, who was bursting out in laughs, and Courtney, who somewhat didn't like the commentary.

After this, Gwen raised her hand and asked:

"So, why these _games_?"

"Hey, this is like a party, I need to shake up the things"

"Oh yes! Oh yes! Party games mean prizes!" Owen cheered.

"Izzy wants prizes too," Izzy said, hi-fiving Owen.

"But, if we refuse to participate?" Heather asked, prancing.

"So, there will be no prize for you, and you wouldn't receive the big, incredible and over…," she discreetly turned to Chris and whispered, pointing at the paper she was holding, "How I say this word?" "Overwhelming," he whispered back. "Overwhelming prize tomorrow!" she concluded.

"Huh, big prize?... Fine, but I'll do this only because my agenda is empty," replied the queen bee, eager for the prize, but if she knew what exactly the prize was, she wouldn't be so eager.

"Great, this is like one of those stupid party games. Chris is going to produce a game-based reality show now?" Noah said, rolling his eyes.

"Don't say that, these are the best games ever!" Geoff answered.

"Pathetic… Only because it's party-based…"

"You say that because you don't have _anyone _to play with"

"Like I care. I'm not like you, your big party-obsessed doofus!"

"At least I try to have a good time, unlike you, your genius-wannabe blockhead!"

"Noah! Geoff! Stop!" Chris ordered. They stopped and became silent, crossing their arms.

"Whoa! What happened to Geoff? He isn't normal," Tyler whispered to DJ.

"He and Bridgette aren't having a good moment. He is very anxious, and you know, when people get anxious they also get angrier easily," he answered. Tyler took a second look at Geoff and saw him clinging.

"Umm, Chris," Trent said, trying to ask something.

"Yes, Trent?"

"You didn't introduce us to the new guys over there"

"Oh yes, I almost forgot," Chris said taking the microphone from Beth. "Ladies and gentlemen, these are Sierra and Alejandro. They won the promotion _Be a Total…Drama… Fan!_"

"So Chris is still using our image without warning us," Gwen said, rolling her eyes.

"Yeah, remember of _Total Drama Island in Manga_," Noah added, "Seriously, what does our show have to do with giant robots and ridiculous clothes?"

"Please, silence while I'm talking," Chris said, "moving along, Sierra and Alejandro won and now they have the opportunity to appear in the special and know their favorite campers. Let them talk by themselves"

He passed the microphone to Sierra, who was overjoyed. "Hello, my name is Sierra and my favorite character is…CODY!!!" – 'Cody' could be heard miles away.

She passed the microphone to Alejandro. Some girls swooned when Alejandro rose from the chair.

"Oh my gosh Sadie, he is SO gorgeous!" Katie cheered. "He remind me of someone, but I can't remember"

"Oh, I can't remember either," Sadie agreed, "Which was his name?"

"Hey, it looks like you have strong competition," Noah said slyly, provoking Justin.

"Oh, come on!" he said, jealously.

"Hi, my name is Alejandro and my favorite camper is Courtney, due to her strategic thinking and leadership skills," he said with some Spanish accent.

"Thank you, Alejandro! Recognition at least," she said, boasted.

Thus, Chris picked again the microphone and said: "All right, people! Let's start! There will be three games: Find the Treasure, the Rockin' Race and the Battle Royale! These are the rules: in the first game, you'll need to find three Guilded Chris that…"

"Woo! These will be filled with chocolate too?"

"Owen, if you or anyone interrupts me again, I'll disqualify you". Owen covered his mouth with his hands.

"So, you must bring three Guilded Chris, which are scattered through the lot to the Earthquake of Unbearable Pain. The first four teams are allowed to go through the second game: the Rockin' Race! Chef will check and allow you to pass. Then, you must pass again through the course, but with two differences: you'll have to carry a sack full of extremely fragile chinaware and glass dishes and cups, and Chef won't be throwing things at you. You must avoid break the content and reach the top of the set, where the first two teams must prepare for the last game in the top of the cliff: the Battle Royale! The members of each team must battle until being knocked-out. The winner will receive a prize today and a bigger prize tomorrow! Questions?"

"Teams! That means we must team up! I wanna go with Berte!" Lindsay said with her typical glee.

"Yes, there will be teams, but they were already chosen," Chris asserted. "This time, the teams were formed randomly, by our computer, so that's mean you must work together with unexpected people! And, as a last explanation, Beth won't participate, 'cause she is the hostess"

"I have a bad feeling about this," Harold mumbled.

"There are seven teams, each with a letter, for easier identification, A) Heather, Noah and Geoff, B) Gwen, Harold and Sadie, C) Courtney, Tyler and Eva, D) Duncan, Lindsay and Katie, E) Cody, Bridgette and Trent, F) LeShawna, Izzy and Justin and G) Owen, DJ and Ezekiel. The decision is irreversible, no complains will be accepted," but he knew that the complain session was about to start.

Everyone started to meet with their respective teams, some unhappier than others, with exception of Katie and Sadie, more than obviously.

"But I can't separate from Sadie!" Katie whined.

"Neither me from Katie!" Sadie added.

"Oh, please! You need to do things alone sometimes," Chris answered, trying not to lose the patience.

"But I can do things alone, like number one, number two…" Sadie replied.

"Gosh! That was unnecessary," Harold said.

"I think this will be a long day…" Gwen sighed.

"Oh, great! I have to team up with the One Wigged Angel," Noah said, with his common sarcasm, "or demon, must I say."

"Shut it, Noah!" Heather answered, frowning and crossing her arms. Noah and Geoff only stared each other and didn't say anything.

"At least Eva is useful for something!" Courtney said.

"What's on?" Tyler replied, a little offended.

"And I think there must be something very 'unrandom' with Chris' definition of 'random'," said LeShawna, suspicious of anything that comes from Chris, as usual.

Notwithstanding, nobody noticed the man with black hood in the cliff. Not even the cameras. He said, with a sinister voice: "The door is here! I CAN FEEL THE HEART!"


	3. King of the Hill

The contestants were now in line, waiting for Chris give the order.

"Ready... set... go!" the host said, firing to the sky. The teams split, going into various sets.

**(Team D)**

Team D was heading to the superhero movie set, with Katie crying all over the way.

"Why...Why can't I go with Sadie?" Katie wept.

"Ugh! Lindsay, can't you distract her with some girl stuff talk?" Duncan begged to the blond lass. He would regret asking this.

"Okay," she answered. "So, Kathryn, which brand of lipstick you use?"

"Well, I use Red Lady"

"Serious! Me too!"

**(Team E)**

Team E went to the monster set, Cody didn't stop talking about Gwen, much to Trent's dismay. Bridgette also wasn't very happy.

"Bridgette," Trent said, trying to divert from Cody's topic, "You seem depressed, what happened?"

She grabbed her elbow and talked in a sad tone, "You know, Geoff and I... Well... We..."

"Oh, I know what comes next. It's harsh, you don't need to continue"

"Yeah," Cody agreed, "let's concentrate on..."

"No," the surfer girl interrupted, "Geoff and I we're still together, but we are giving a break"

"So, what's wrong?" the musician asked.

"I don't know, Geoff is so different, since the first episodes of the Aftermath... did you see the way he treated Noah?"

"I think he deserved it, he can very cynical," the musician replied, holding her hand.

"Are you holding my hand?", she said, somewhat surprised.

"What, no, I mean..."

"That's ok," she giggled, covering her mouth, "Let's find these statues"

**(Team A)**

"Why we are following Courtney's team?" Noah asked, "They're going to the prison set"

"Because she has a good team with Eva, they could spare us some time if we let them do the hard job," Heather answered.

Geoff finally broke his silence and talked to Noah. "Noah, I'm sorry for that earlier, I didn't want to do that"

"No problem," he replied, "I'm also sorry for calling you a doofus, but, man, what's happening to you? You changed"

"It's because Bridgette and I, we... are having troubles and she told me to give a break to us. She stressed she wasn't dumping me... I was very tense with that and I couldn't control myself"

"Oh, that's awful... Anyway, there's no time to waste we have a challenge to win," the egghead said, with the maximum concern level he could get together.

"Yeah," Geoff agreed with dismay, "I guess you're right"

"Why don't you see this like a party? You love parties and Beth said this is like a party"

"Yeah, I guess you're right. Wait, you're right, I cannot stay in this situation forever, we must find the statues!" and he reanimated himself.

"That's the Geoff I know," Noah said but added in a very low voice "The most annoying person ever"

"Ok, your two sissies stop right now!" Heather broke off, "Listen, Courtney's team has already found a statue, and we must devise a plan to steal it from them. Silence!" and then they hid behind a box.

"It must be more efficient if we look for ourselves," Noah complained.

"I've said for you to shut up! Look, they're discussing"

"What do you mean I'm no use? If wasn't for me you never would find this stupid statue in the cell," Tyler protested.

"Your help is dispensable," Courtney replied, "I could have seen this sooner or later"

"Idiots! We don't have time for this, we must find the other statues," Eva interrupted, trying to settle the things. "Or else we'll lose, like your stupid ex-boyfriend. He lost it to a farm flapper"

"He is NOT my ex-boyfriend, but he isn't my boyfriend too, until my lawyer say so, I mean...," she stared the sky for a few moments and replied "And you, don't give me orders! I am a CIT."

"Oh, your spoiled brat, CIT this!" and the gym girl threw the statue at Courtney, but she ducked the projectile and another girl was hit.

"Ouch! My head," the queen bee took her hands to her head and felt a bruise in her forehead.

"That's the way Heather!" Noah said, hi-fiving Geoff.

"Grrr... Let's get outta here"

As they were withdrawing, Team C was blaming each other for squandering the statue, squabbling "It's your fault".

**(Team G)**

"Look!" Owen said, in the western set, "the horse is holding one statue in the mouth"

"Let's get it," DJ said. But it was harder than seemed. The guys were running after the horse, but the animal was faster than anyone.

"Hey, I had an idea," the prairie boy declared. He got a rope and laced the horse. It worked and the horse was immobilized. Owen picked the statue and applauded, giving him a hug.

"Woohoo, Zeke you did it! Where do you learn those skills?"

"You know, I'm a farm boy and I learn these things there, eh"

**(Team F)**

"This bridge brings me bad memories," Justin whined, in the fairy-tale movie set, "Only now I recovered from the injuries and I lost my mojo. I don't want to cross"

"What do you mean? But there's a statue on the other side," LeShawna asked, trying not to call him a sissy.

"Look," he took off the shirt and smiled. The girls only raised her eyebrows, unimpressed. "See, you don't swoon for me anymore"

"Oh, but this was before the fairy-tale challenge, I think it started from the war movie challenge," Izzy commented.

"I don't remember very well from that challenge," LeShawna replied, "I didn't pay much attention"

"I remember, you were farting more than Owen," the red-haired added.

"Hey!"

"Duncan's strategy was quite elaborated, using your farting crisis to create a fog of war-like smokescreen to conceal Harold's num-yo trap. It was worth of a five-star general"

"Ok, no more embarrassing memories," and then LeShawna directed her word to Justin. "Look Justin, if you start doing useful things, the girls will swoon for you again, so cross the bridge and grab that statue"

"Really?"

"Well... What are you waiting for? Grab the statue!"

"Yeah! The magnificent Justin is coming back!"

And so Justin ran through the bridge, without care about the explosions, bear traps and other instruments of torture conveniently placed by Chris (he really likes them, you know) and he returned to the girls with the bounty.

"Now my mojo will return and I'll have the solar protector advertising contract back!"

The girls smirked and hi-fived each other.

**(Team B)**

Gwen was about to loss the patience with Sadie's whining and return to service tent to pick duct tape to use on her, but Harold saw a statue in the top of the scoreboard at the sports movie set and had an idea.

"Sadie," he said pointing to the statue, "if we get that statue, and more two, you can reunite soon with Katie, but you must be fast"

"Waaaa... Huh? So if I get it faster I can go back with Katie?"

"It's obvious," Gwen uttered, raising her arms to the sky. "Now go, before I have to sew up your mouth"

They had some difficult to climb the scoreboard, mainly because there was some steps missing in the stairs, but in the end they managed to pick the statue.

Chris was watching the challenge together with Beth, Sierra and Alejandro, and tried to small-talk with them: "So Beth, Brady doesn't get bothered with Harold or, now, Duncan?"

"Oh, no, no, he is not jealous. And Duncan has a place in my heart now; he was a _parfait _gentleman in the last challenge...," she swooned, "I know that under his punk looks there's a sweet heart"

Chris giggled and thought: "If Duncan hears this, he is going to shiver all over for weeks"

"Well, ok," he agreed with Beth and talked to Alejandro: "Alejandro, so who you think is gonna win?"

"I expect Justin lose," he answered.

"Why not?"

"Because Justin thinks he is so wonderful only because he has lots of contracts, but he's a _cabezón_. He has no brains, no guts, nothing! If I'd be in the show, things would be very different. By the way, Bridgette is so beautiful, I'd bet on her." he grinned.

"I knew we've picked the right guy", Chris thought. "And Sierra, what do you think?" he asked to the pink-haired girl.

"Cody has to won, he's so cute," and she started to squeal.

"Where did the producers find her?" he thought and commented with them: "It's easier to find three statues than one case, this won't take much time, maybe half an hour"

However, he was wrong. Three hours passed and no team found the required three statues. Chris was in the tent, beating his head against the wall in frustration, Duncan was thinking about killing himself after hearing three hours of nonstopping girl talk; Gwen was thinking about killing herself too after two hours of Sadie's crying (she got impatient and started to cry); Heather also was thinking about killing herself after three hours with Noah and Geoff, without any special reason, and so Justin, after three hours without make-up; Bridgette got separated and lost her team in the forest set and started to run in circles; all members of Team C were with black eye (Tyler had both eyes black) and Owen was starting to think that DJ was a hamburger and Ezekiel a milk-shake (he actually tried to suck Ezekiel's toque, thinking it was a straw). When everything seemed hopeless, a miracle occurred.

"We found the last statue!" Izzy shouted.

"Silence Izzy, they may follow us," LeShawna rustled.

"Argh! Who have had the idea of placing this statue inside a toilet?" Justin said.

"Oh, finally," Chris said, feeling his life being restored. He grabbed the microphone and said: "Ok, since we have at least one team that actually found all three Guilded Chris, I'm changing the rules: now, Team F gained advantage and don't have to run the Rockin' Race anymore, but the first three teams arriving at the disaster movie set will be able to continue in the competition and the other teams will be disqualified"

So, everyone started to run to the disaster set. The first to arrive was Team C, and the second was Team G. Teams A and D were running side by side and Team B was on the other way, but when Katie spotted Sadie, they ran to each other, going away from their teams.

"Oh my gosh Sadie, I missed you so much"

"Me too, Katie," and they hugged each other.

Team D came first, with Team B following. Team A was the last.

"Darn! We lost, thanks to you two," Heather growled to Noah and Geoff, who stared carefree.

"Wait, Teams D and B are incomplete," Chef said, "They are disqualified. Team A goes forward". They leapt for joy.

"What do you mean with incomplete?" Duncan asked, vexed.

Chef pointed to Katie and Sadie. "They weren't here when you arrived, so you are officially incomplete. Team A is complete, and they are qualified"

"No, not again!" Duncan whined, slapping his forehead.

"All this for nothing," Gwen complained.

"Gosh! This is so inefficient," Harold shouted.

"Well, at least I got some nice fashion advice from Kathleen," said Lindsay and receiving glares from the others.

"Wait, where's the last team?" Chef wondered.

"Chef," Chris said through the radio, "Bridgette got lost in the forest set and, when Trent and Cody went look for her, they got lost too, and I sent interns to find them, or else they would never find the exit. Start the challenge!"

Chef handed over the bags, containing the extremely frail chinaware.

"Why these things?" Eva said, crushing a poor little glass cup.

"Don't break it! It's for the afternoon tea," Chef replied, "Now at your marks. At least one member of each team must cross the course with the glass dishware intact. If you break the content of the bag, you're eliminated. The winning team goes to the next phase"

He got a green flag and waved it, "Go!"

The nine contestants got their bags and eight started to move, because Ezekiel, when he grabbed his bag, lost his balance, fell and broke all his dishware.

The machine started to work and rumble all over. DJ lost his balance was eliminated. Owen also was eliminated when his feet got stuck in a tire and he fell when he tried to set free. Team G was eliminated.

Heather also lost her balance, but she could manage to make the bag fall over her waist and don't break damage too much the bag. After the shock, the tomato-lava went in their direction, Tyler slipped, fell and was eliminated. Seeing that Eva was in her front, Heather carefully put her bag in the ground, took Noah's bag and tossed at Eva's back. She got startled and let her bag fall. She was eliminated, like Noah.

"Hey, that was my bag," the egghead complained.

"Your sacrifice won't be in vain," the queen bee replied, with a smirk. Ask for alms with other's hat is pretty easy.

The aftershock started, and Courtney and Geoff were climbing the wall, caring for not break the dishware.

"Watch and learn, fools!" Heather uttered, as she simply by-passed the wall and reached the finish line.

"But this is against the rules," the CIT complained.

"Rules? Do you forget we are on a Chris TV show?" Courtney only shouted in frustration, grabbing her PDA and calling Michael. Team A won.

"Grab your stuff and meet at the cliff, where you'll go to the final challenge," the cook ordered.

Fifteen minutes later, they arrived. All the eliminated ones were in an improvised stall. "Ok, listen," Chris said, "It will be three rounds, in which you must choose who's gonna fight. You must knock-out your opponent from the arena or disarm her. These are your weapons, wooden swords. Decide who's gonna battle who"

"I'll go first!" Geoff said, confident. "I'm good at this"

Izzy jumped in the arena, and put herself in an offensive stance, taunting Geoff. "I'll show my skills, BANZAI!!!"

The host grabbed the microphone and said: "Round 1: Geoff vs. Izzy. FIGHT!"

The party-dude ran at the psycho's direction, but she yelled "Explosivo kick!" and gave a powerful jump kick right at his chest, which send him flying out the arena.

"Geoff is off the arena. The winner is Izzy! Flawless victory! Poor Geoff, he couldn't stand against her" She leapt for joy and was congratulated by her teammates.

"Did anybody get the plate?" Geoff said, still dizzy from the kick, as Noah help him to stand up.

"Next round, we choose Justin," LeShawna said.

"Noah, it's your turn," Heather said.

"But I'm not good at this, I can get hurt easily," Noah complained.

"C'mon, it's your nemesis, and, if I'm right, you don't need to," she smirked.

"Round 2. Noah vs. Justin. FIGHT!"

"Wait," Justin protested, "I can't go over there"

"But, you'll face Noah, the scrawniest person in the area," LeShawna said, trying to persuade the model, whereas a cry of protest could be heard from the other side, "And, look at you – you are a hunk, you have muscles, unlike him"

"But I can't risk them. That's it! I forfeit the match!"

"Justin refuses to battle. The winner is Noah!" Chris said, "Ow man, these aren't good for the ratings"

"Good, I won and didn't have to fight. I made my day!" the egghead boasted.

"Now, for the last match, Heather versus LeShawna," the host said, "Go to your positions!"

"Hmm, so Heather, you wanted this, huh?" LeShawna said.

"Actually, yes!" the queen bee replied, "Let's finish this soon and your humiliation will be quick"

"No, if I defeat you first," the big sister grinned.

"Round 3. Heather vs. LeShawna. FIGHT!"

"Lemme see what you're made of," LeShawna teased her and put herself in a defensive stance.

"Are you taunting me?" she went in her direction and attacked, "How 'bout this?"

"Come on!" LeShawna parried the hit and fought back. "Now's my turn!" LeShawna released a series of stabs against Heather, who retorted back. The two girls were clashing with their wooden swords for moments, with a slightly advantage for LeShawna. Chris was enjoying, "The ratings, this is superb". Everyone was cheering for LeShawna, "Go get her! Finish her!"

Heather tried to smite LeShawna's leg, but she blocked the hit. "My dear, I know all your tricks. My turn," LeShawna grinned to her, launching a counter attack that hit Heather in her shoulder, who stepped back.

"Ouch! You gonna see..." The wigged girl charged at high speed with her sword, but LeShawna managed to dodge and give her a stab in her back.

"Urgh! I'm not done yet," Heather growled to her. She tried to hit LeShawna, but she didn't succeed. "Time to finish this, Heather," LeShawna said. With one hand, she parried Heather's wooden sword and with the other, she hit her wrist and made her drop her sword, effectively disarming her.

"Heather is disarmed. The winner is LeShawna! Team F is the winner of the Post Total Drama Action Games!"

Heather rubbed her wrist, it was hurting, but not like her pride and left the place, discreetly before everyone else. On the other hand, they all were congratulating LeShawna, even Noah and Geoff, and went to the tent, to eat the surprisingly edible snacks that Chef cooked.

When everyone had left the cliff, the mysterious black-hooded figure appeared from the shadows and said: "The heart of the loser girl is feeble and scurvy, however the heart of the winner is... _interesting_"


	4. The Last Party of the World

**A.N.:** Technically, the title of the chapter is "The Last Party of the World (and Geoff wasn't there)". This also is the longest yet.

Edited to remove the scenes in Disney's Castle because they were technically not original and thus there was a chance they had copyright. And besides, you already know, don't you?

* * *

Everyone was in the tent, they were enjoying the snacks, talking about the day, what they were doing after TDA and what they expected to do in the future, and be partake in a third season wasn't in their plans. Heather was sitting in a chair, still galled from being defeated. LeShawna approached her and said, "Hey girl, don't get so upset."

"How could you defeat me so easily?" she asked back.

"Oh, please, in my hometown, I play with the guys all time. They always challenge me, and they always lose!"

"Umm..."

"So, drop this thing" LeShawna pointed the wooden sword that Heather was still holding.

Heather stared her and answered with a grin, "No, I'm keeping this for our rematch."

"Okay, if want to lose again..." LeShawna replied.

Chris picked the microphone and called the attetion of everyone. "My dear cast..."

"I don't like when he uses this word," Gwen said, a bit shaky.

"Here's the last announcement from the day. It was a great day, with great challenges, but now it's time to rest. Tomorrow will be a great day, the day of the big prize. You must be here at 10:30 a.m. to receive, or else you won't be allowed to get in. Am I clear?"

"Yeah, whatever," Duncan scoffed.

The host continued. "The night is free, go wherever you'd like, but don't forget to come back punctually. Also, you may sleep in the trailers. Dismissed!"

And so, everyone started to plan the night. LeShawna was busy, talking to all girls.

"Meet with me at the heist set, at night, and bring your stuff"

It was nine o'clock; Heather was in front of the vault. She knocked the door of the vault and Gwen opened it.

"Oh, it's you," she said, with dismay.

"Oh, sorry, I was looking for the heist set, not for the alien set," the wigged girl replied.

"Look, I could simply shut the door in your face. But I will not do this only because LeShawna convinced me to tolerate you, and I'm doing this only because she is my friend and her birthday was five days ago. So if you don't create problems for me, I won't create problems for you. Stay away from me!"

"Gosh, someone is having a bad day. I just wonder why."

Gwen frowned, but, without Heather perceive, she forced back a laugh. Bridgette and Izzy also were there.

"Hmm, why would LeShawna befriend such a mean, nasty person?" Bridgette wonders.

"Perhaps she is crazy" Izzy replied.

Bridgette quirked her eyebrow, after all, crazier than Izzy is a concept completly anew to her, and asked "Would you be crazy enough to be her friend?"

"I don't know, but if LeShawna accepted her, maybe my imaginary friends also accept."

Heather approached them and questioned Bridgette: "So, how's your boyfriend, or should I say EX-boyfriend?"

"Shut it up! I didn't dump Geoff, leave me alone!" Bridgette cried.

"Oh, please. Your relationship is about to meet a dead end. The only thing he knows is how to party and make out. But it lasted longer than Gwenny. By the way, Trent doesn't kiss so bad."

After saying this she felt someone pulling her ear. "Listen my dear, can't you be less _poisonous_ for one day?" LeShawna said, not amused by Heather's attitude. "Now, can you excuse with them? If you don't do this, I'll have to kick you out!"

"He isn't happy about defeating me?" she though and against her will, she started to mumble "S-s-s-s-s-s-so-o-orry!" she accelerated when noticed Gwen and Izzy activating the cameras of their cellphones.

"Aww, that should be a historical moment" the goth girl commented, smirking.

"Now that everyone settle up" LeShawna said returning to her good mood, "look and see!"

She took some tiles off the floor and a trapdoor was revealed. She opened it and a they saw a strait ramp.

"LeShawna, how did you find that?" Gwen asked, curiously.

"Remember when I was stuck in the vault? I accidentally found this passage here. But you must see what lies in the end of the way."

The girls went there, crawling through the ramp and arrived in a room with nothing but a door.

"This reminds me a adventure movie. See that door? There must be something very important beyond that door, but it won't open for anything."

"So, why did you bring us here?" Heather asked.

"This place is perfect to be our secret place, and, since my birthday was five days ago and nobody from the show was there, I think we should commemorate here! There are no cameras, and…"

"But why only us?" Gwen asked, interrupting her friend.

"This is more particular, so I didn't invite any of the boys. Lindsay, Beth, Katie and Sadie went to the mall, Eva just said no and Courtney said she was going to see her parents and Duncan, probably to write a new law suit" she said, chuckling.

"Gee, Courtney, what we're going to do tonight?" Gwen said, mocking Duncan's voice.

"The same thing we do every night Duncan" LeShawna replied, trying to mock Courtney's voice, "File a law suit and try to take over the show" The girls laughed at this.

"_Pink and the Brain _was a nice show, isn't Izzy?" the surfer girl commented. "Izzy?"

Izzy was immobile, only staring the door. She had a fixedly look, her green eyes weren't moving of blinking. It looked like she was lost in her thoughts, trying to remeber something.

"Izzy?" Heather said, as she slapped the back of her head.

"What?"

"I should ask what!"

"Are you okay, Izzy?", Bridgette asked.

"Oh, of course. But that door reminds me something, I can't remember… wait, LeShawna just said party?"

Unbeknownst to them, a camera recorded the moment they entered the passage. Chris was there, analyzing the record.

"So, that's why the girls preferred to stay here at night. Replacing the camera was a good idea after all, that explains why LeShawna disappeared for some minutes last time," he said. But then he had heard a strange noise: "Chef, are you here? I was looking for you and to check the vault and… What the…"

The girls were enjoying their party, Heather and Gwen were scowling politely each other, without creating (much) confusion, Izzy was describing her mad stories and Bridgette and LeShawna were pretending pay attetion at her. Meanwhile, in a great castle, in a distant world, a magician was entering in its throne room. His name was Donald Duck...

* * *

In the middle of the party, LeShawna noticed that noboby was talking to Heather, due to obvious reasons, and went talk with her.

"Are you amused, Heather?" she asked.

"Nah... I'm tired of hearing Izzy's stories; the last one was about a trip she made to Patagonia, to claim some throne, saying she was a direct descendant of the king... I don't care. So, what's new?"

"You know Heather, when I was in the Aftermath studio, I could hear some interns talking about a third season"

"No"

"Yes, I couldn't hear all they said, but they were discussing 'bout buying some crappy Soviet-era airplane. This probably means that Chris is preparing something. Hasn't he already tortured us enough?" she said angrily, "You see, another vacation destroyed in a cheap location with Chef's disgusting food. What does he reserve for us now? A camp in Nunavut? I would give anything to avoid this. I just wanna go home!"

"You're not alone. This thing of post-TDA games must be an excuse for Chris to drag us to other freaking show, like the other time"

"How couldn't we perceive? Why did we agree this in first place?" the big sister cried, and sighed, "I always had the dream to visit other places. To see other persons, see something different, other worlds. But we're binded to those stupid contracts…"

"My family lawyer could try to find a breach in the contracts, and…Hey!"

Before Heather could finish, Izzy snatched her wig.

"Give me back! Do you know how hard is to find a straight hair wig?"

"Come get!" Izzy, Gwen and Bridgette were throwing the wig to each other and mocking Heather as she was trying to recover it.

"Grrr… You'll pay me for this!" and she started to yell profanities against them. Then she heard something she wasn't expecting from LeShawna.

"Why don't you just laugh? You don't need to frown 24 hours per day"

Initially Heather frowned hard but after some time she was smiling very slightly, like a wigged Monalisa.

"See" LeShawna answered, "you need to learn how to laugh at yourself"

Izzy finally returned the wig.

"Thank you, Izzy" she said without lose her 'I'm better than thou' pose.

"Hahaha! Maybe there's a point of light in your dark heart" Izzy replied, in her typical way.

"I'll take that as a compliment"

"Ok, I think it's almost time to sleep" LeShawna said, yawning.

"Yeah, it's almost 1 a.m. and the challenges today were tiring" Bridgette completed, "Good night"

* * *

It was calm in the secret room, the girls were sleeping but Heather. She was lying down in her sleeping bag, thinking. Then she heard someone approaching. It was the black hooded man who was roaming the lot earlier; nor his face neither his hands could be seen.

"Wh-Who's there? I'll call the police!" Heather said.

"I've come to see the door to this world" the hooded man answered, in a creepy tone.

"Huh?"

"This world has been connected"

"Wh-What are you talking about?"

"Tied to the darkness...soon to be completely eclipsed"

"Well, whoever you are, stop freaking me out like this... Wait a second?! Wh-Where did you come from?"

"You do not yet know what lies beyond the door"

"So, you're not from this world!"

"There is so very much to learn. You understand so little."

"Oh, yeah? Well, you'll see. I'm gonna get out and learn what's out there, write an account and scrub it in your ugly face!"

"How meaningless. One who knows nothing can understand nothing"

Heather looked to the door and thought "Understand what? Other worlds besides this I live?" When she turned her head back, the strange man wasn't there anymore.

"Hey, what are you doing? Go sleep!" Gwen said as she rose from her sleeping bag, startled from hearing the talk, but she didn't pay attention to its content.

"Did you see a hooded man here?" Heather asked.

"No, you're dreaming. Better go sleep, _izzyness_ is contagious"

* * *

"Full crap! We are late!" Heather cried.

"Izzy, wake up!" Bridgette said.

"The princess of Patagonia orders roasted dodo!" she mumbled asleep. "Ow, hi Brigdette! What's up?"

"We've overslept!"

"What? Fast, we need to pack up the stuff!"

They prepared themselves the faster they could. "Go, I'll stay here and replace the tiles" LeShawna said.

"Ok, but be fast" Gwen replied. And so the girls rushed to the auditorium, leaving LeShawna behind. When they reached the auditorium, they were expecting to be reprimanded by Chris but this didn't happen because there was no Chris, only the others, also waiting for nothing.

"Where is Chris?" Heather asked.

"We don't know, nobody saw Chris yet" Cody answered.

"And neither Chef, nor the two cameramen" DJ added. "Since Chef was not here, I made the breakfast"

"Oh, please gimme some of your delightful sandwiches, please" Gwen begged.

"Sorry, but they ate every single sandwich. But I can make more for you"

"You mean we were in a hurry for nothing?" Heather complained.

"That happens" Noah said, in a mocking tone.

The girls frowned as their bellies snored.

"That's it, I'm going to the trailers to set in order my things" Heather said.

"I'll follow DJ, I wouldn't lose the opportunity to eat his sandwiches for anything" Gwen said.

"Me too!" Bridgette completed.

"Well, I'm going to talk with the sharks. See you later" Izzy said.

Meanwhile, LeShawna was leaving the vault scenario. "I'm late than everything, but who cares?" she said to herself.

"The door is about to open" a creepy voice talked to her, without warning.

"Wh-Who's there?" LeShawna replied.

"The door is about to open. Come and claim your destiny!" the voice continued emphatically. It was the strange hooded man.

"What? Who are you?" The hooded man went to the vault direction, and LeShawna followed him. Izzy, who was strolling in the area, saw LeShawna returning to the vault.

"Hmm, why LeShawna is going back to the vault? Better go ask and warn that Chris is not here"

Heather entered in the girl's trailer to arrange her stuff. However, before she could unpack her things, she heard a thunder, and went to the window to check. "Why did the sky cloud so fast? A storm?" Heather talked to herself and went away the trailer. "What the…?"

A massive black sphere was floating in the sky. Heather saw some people running desperately, trying to hide. She heard someone screaming "It's the end of the world, we're gonna die!" Everyone was panicked, with exception of Noah, who was sitting in a bench.

"Hey, the world is ending and there's nothing I can do about this. At least I have a nice view"

Heather saw everything dumbfounded, but soon Bridgette tripped her.

"Ouch! Watch out, Bridg!"

After Bridgette rose, she gasped, "Ow Heather, you won't believe, but the door has opened!" she said running the faster she could.

"What! I must tell LeShawna"

But the problems were far away from ending. Heather saw something that disturbed her – the creatures from her dream appeared, rising from the floor.

"Oh no! The creatures!" She picked her wooden sword and tried to attack the creatures, but it didn't work, the sword simply didn't do anything.

"Ouch!" she moaned when a creature hit her arm, with its dark claw. She stared the small wound and became afraid. "This is not a dream! This is not a dream! Aaaahhh!"

She dropped the wooden sword and ran away, with the creatures on her track. She reached the auditorium and found LeShawna.

"LeShawna, you're here!" she gasped tired.

"The door has opened…" LeShawna replied

"So, Bridgette has already told you"

"The door has opened, Heather! Now we can go to other worlds!"

"What are you talking about? We must find a way to stop this madness! Look, the others are running like dizzy cockroaches, it's a pandemonium"

"They all are coming with us, girl! Once we step through, we might not be able to come back. We may never see our parents again and Chris, specially. There's no turning back. But this may be our only chance. We can't let fear stop us! I'm not afraid of the darkness! We are free!"

"LeShawna, you are terrifying me beyond the limits"

LeShawna showed her hand to Heather, but she couldn't reach her, there was darkness surrounding them, but at that time a light appeared. After the light faded, Heather couldn't see LeShawna anymore.

She saw the creatures approaching faster, but she noticed something glowing in her hands.

"Keyblade…Keyblade" she could hear the mysterious voice of her dream whispering to her. An object resembling a giant key was in her hands.

"What is this?" she said. Suddenly, she saw a creature jumping in her direction, showing its claws.

"Aaaahhhh!" she cried, swinging desperately the Keyblade in the air, hoping that would hit the creature. She could feel that it really hit the creature and made it dissipate in the air.

"It works! Now I can fight back!"

And so she started to fight the creatures. She still was a little clumsy with the Keyblade, but she managed to get used fast with the sword. She defeated many creatures until they started to attack in groups. She took a few slashes and perceived that they wouldn't stop to come.

"It's no use... Wait, I don't know why, but that door must have something to do with this" She went through the lot and reached the vault and noticed that the tiles weren't replaced. She opened the trapdoor and stepped down the ramp to reach the room. Izzy was there.

"Izzy, your crazy psycho! You did this?"

Izzy turned slowly and Heather could see her face; pure fear was stamped in her face. She just answered:

"Heather…Not…again…"

"What do you mean with _again_, Izzy?"

Before Izzy could say anything, a blow of wind came out the door, and Izzy went in Heather's direction. Heather tried to hold her, but when Izzy approached, she disappeared. The wind got stronger and Heather was also blown away.

When Heather opened her eyes, the world was falling apart. She was in a small piece of land floating in the air. The black sphere became bigger and was creating more wind. But, when Heather looked to the other side of the piece of land, she saw again the giant black creature from her dream.

"Damn! It has returned, probably stronger"

The creature advanced in her direction. It raised its hand and plunged into the ground. Heather had seen this before and jumped through its arm, before the smaller creatures appear, and attacked its head. She damaged the creature, but wasn't enough.

"As I expected, it's much worse than the dream," she thought.

Heather had to attack the smaller creatures, but they were relatively easy. The big creature kneeled and launched three energy blasts into her direction. She moved back to avoid. When its hand was in range, Heather quickly moved to attack.

"This is getting repetitive."

But the creature made a new move. It kneeled and raised a black-red sphere. It launched above and started to rain black energy orbs. Heather avoided the orbs and waited for a chance to attack the big creature. It plunged again its hand in the ground to summon more creatures, as Heather keep stabbing the hand and avoiding the smallers. After that, the creature prepared to launch more energy blasts. It launched five this time. Heather was hit by the second, but dodged the other three. Then she waited for the last and focused. When the blast was about to hit her, she struck it with the Keyblade, which made it return to the creature. Bull's eye! The creature took the hit in its head and started to lose balance.

"Yeah! Take that, loser!"

However the creature was starting to regain balance, but something happened.

"Look out!" Owen yelled, taken by the wind. He hit the creature and made it finally lose all the balance and be dragged to the sphere. "Ha! That big farting machine was useful for something". And then the wind got stronger again and blew Heather away. She could see the others being sucked by the sphere.

"This is the end, Katie?"

"Yes, Sadie. At least we are together!"

"Yipe! BFFs 'till the end, for sure!"

Katie and Sadie were saying good-bye to their world, but a flying rock hit Katie, and they got separate.

"Ouch!... No! Sadieee!"

"Katie, waaaaa..."

Noah was also complaining, as usual. "I always though of a more honorable death, not this..."

"I always imagined me dying like the musicians in the _Titanic_, playing a good song..." Trent lamented.

"I didn't imagine me dying covered by Owen's vomit!" Lindsay complained. Owen had puked in the air and accidentally hit Lindsay.

"The mayans were wrong! It's not 2012 yet!" Harold cried.

"What a waste of handsomeness!" Justin whined loudly.

"If we're going to die, there is a last thing that must be made" Duncan uttered as he gave a wedgie on Harold.

"Ouch!"

"Hahaha! That's a completely new way to do this"

"Duncan, WE ARE DYING!" Courtney cried.

"Yep, but I wouldn't lose the chance!"

"You won't, skinny girl" Eva replied.

"DJ, don't cry, it will end soon" Geoff said, trying to comfort DJ, but he was screaming too.

"I wanna my mommy!" he answered.

"Me too, waaa..." Ezekiel added.

"Why, when I finally win something in life, the world is destroyed?" Beth grumbled.

"As an environmentalist, I'm supposed to help the world, not being destroyed by her" Bridgette wept over.

"Don't worry Bridgette, I'm here!" Alejandro tried to comfort her.

"Hey, what's that mean?" Geoff shouted angrily. Bridgette stared blankly at them, she was mature enough to know that wasn't the hour for discussing relationships, but others weren't.

"I love you, Gwen" Cody cried.

"And I love you Cody" Sierra cried.

"Like dying wasn't enough" Gwen mumbled.

"The Codemeister scores in the eeeeen..." Cody said, in a mix of joy and despair before his voice faded away.

Those who didn't say last words were screaming or grumbling. Everyone was already absorbed by the black sphere, and Heather would join them soon.

"Aaaaaaaaahhhhh!" was her last breathe in the falling world.


	5. A New World, pt 1

**A/N:** Here's the fifth chapter (sixth chapter is at the bay) and here starts the major depart from the original. Enjoy, review and rate (ERR).

* * *

Donald and Goofy were about to arrive in Traverse Town and Goofy remembered that Donald's nephews, Huey, Louie and Dewey, were in the world running a shop.

"So Donald, your nephews still are in Traverse Town?" Goofy asked.

"No, they're with Uncle Scrooge. The king had commissioned him to develop a traffic system between the worlds. They lent the shop for other person."

"Gawrsh! But wasn't this kind of contact with other worlds forbidden?"

"Yes, but there are exceptions. The worlds Uncle Scrooge went are already known to us and vice-versa."

"I see…"

**Traverse Town**

They finally reached and landed in Traverse Town. Pluto also stepped out the ship and followed them. They passed by the gate and entered in the town. Everything seemed to be normal, but Goofy noted something in the sky.

"Look, a star is going out!"

Donald also looked at the sky to see the star fading out and became worried. That was the former Red Leaf Country.

"Come on. Let's hurry," he said. "Where's that key…"

"Hey, ya know, maybe we ought to go find the professor."

While they were talking, Pluto went away to a different direction they were going. Goofy, realizing this, tried to warn Donald, but he ignored him.

The dog didn't attended and they proceeded on the planned direction. Pluto actually found a barely unconscious girl and started to lick her face.

"Izzy, not again," Heather moaned. Pluto jumped on her and she finally woke up, startled.

"Where am I? Oh boy… Do you know where we are?" The dog stared her for a few second and ran away. "Hey…I'm talking to a dog?"

Heather finally rose and walked to the plaza, when she realized she wasn't in the lot anymore.

"This is totally weird… I'm in another world! And I'm still hungry!" she said with a snore.

She entered in the first house whose door was open. It was written in the top of the door "Item Shop". Lots of merchandise were in the shelves. There was a man in the balcony. He was wearing a white cloth that covered all his body, a black mask and a yellow mantle. In the chest, there was a symbol, resembling his mask and he had one red bracelet with buttons in each wrist. Also, he was reading a book, in the cover was written _Shopkeeping for Dummies_.

"Hello! A customer! Let me introduce myself: my name is Space Ghost and this is the Item Shop. How may I help you?"

"Oh, please," Heather answered, "I need information!"

"Information? I'll ask Zorak if we have this product. Zorak!"

The girl slapped her forehead, regretting for asking. A giant green locust, wearing some kind of blue and black locust-costume appeared holding a broom.

"Who invokes Zorak, the mighty grasshopper of doom?" he said, wielding the broom like a scepter.

"Ok Zorak!" Space Ghost replied, unimpressed, "Now, do you remember of that brand of canned lettuce, Information?"

"No, I don't. If you don't mind, I have a floor to sweep. Try to ask Moltar, he's checking the storage"

"Oh yes... Moltar!" the masked salesman shouted.

"What's now?" Moltar shouted back.

"Bring me a can of Information"

The figure went to room. He was wearing some kind of fireproof suit, which was grey and orange, with green gloves and had some kind of communicator in the region of the mouth.

"Here is. Now if you excuse, I need to go back." In the can was written _Information: Lettuce for those who are in formation_.

"This must be the worst slogan ever!" Heather thought and then she said, impatient: "Look, this is not the kind of information I'm looking for"

Upon hearing this, Space Ghost feared that his client wasn't pleased, so he searched something in the book. He found the page and thought "Here: to attract clients, try to offer free samples."

"Look, I know you're not happy, but I'd like to offer a free sample of Chambraigne, one of our most successful products. Zorak, the chair!"

"But I..." before she could finish, Zorak made her sit in a chair and started to apply the shampoo on her wig.

"Don't worry, Chambraigne is not only shampoo for you hair, but for your brain. I use it everyday." the masked salesman said.

"He washes his brain every day," Zorak completed.

"Oh, you must be the best shopkeeper in the world," Heather said, ironizing the brainwashed man.

"Thanks, I am." he replied, oblivious to the irony.

"So, why are you running this shop? To earn money to your own adventures?"

"No, we're low on budget to our show, so we need extra revenue for it, especially after our ill-fated telethon. It's called _Space Ghost: Coast to Coast._"

"Never heard of..."

"Hmm, that's remind me I need to invest more on propaganda... The shampoo must be working now. Let's see."

He got a mirror and held in her front. The shampoo made her wig went dark green. "My wig! What did you do?"

"Whoops, Chambraigne has some side effects on wigs."

"Look what you've done, you idiot. Now I'm looking like that freak goth! That's it, I'm leaving this stupid place, to find out information about this world for myself!" she rose from the chair and kicked Zorak's leg. The locust moaned, but his suffering didn't end.

"We lost a customer! It's all your fault Zorak!" Space Ghost said, pointing his bracelet at the locust and pressing a button.

"But it was you-WHAAA!" before the locust could finished, a heat-ray went out from Space Ghost's bracelet, exploded and fried the locust.

"Cough... I _hate_ when he does that!"

"Wait, potential customer, you said you were looking for information about this world?" the masked salesman tried to calm the green-wigged girl.

"NOT FROM YOU!" she shouted back angrily.

"The Accessory Shop may have some information, they're here long ago."

"GET OFF MY LIFE!"

"As you wish, the customer always has the reason. But come back, you didn't try the potions!" Heather only lifted her arms and growled. However, she hadn't many options. When she tried to speak with a waitress, she only answered "This world is crawled with refugees, it's a sad world," and refused to talk more with Heather. She asked a boy and he answered he was missing his parents and to go to the Accessory Shop.

"At least, they aren't the weirdoes from Item Shop. I think I'll go check there," she thought.

She went and entered the Accessory Shop. There was fireplace next to the door and a save point, as well as a couch and a little table. In the shelves, there were rings, bracelets, collars and so on. There was a brown-skinned young man, with yellow dyed hair and wearing a light-pink sleeveless shirt, as a clerk.

"Hey there, my name is Evan and how can I help... Aw, it's just a girl"

"Hey, I'm not just a girl, I'm the most popular girl in my world." The young man only raised his eyebrow.

"Ok, the most popular girl of my school, satisfied? My name is Heather."

"Fine, so why the long face, Heather? Your lost of something?"

"An ignorant like you would never understand."

"Hey, I'm trying to help, don't be so proud."

"I don't know where I am, okay?"

"I see, you must be new here," and Evan explained that she was in Traverse Town, known by shelter refugees from other worlds, like her now.

"This is really another world!"

"Yeah, I'm not what your deal is, but I'm sure this isn't your world."

"Hmm... If you're right, better start looking for someone I know."

"Well, good luck with whatever you're doing. If you ever run into trouble, you may come to this shop. I'll look out for you. Before going, wouldn't you like to see our products?"

"I don't think so... But that ring is pretty! How much cost?"

"It costs only... Sniff, are you using Chambraigne?"

"Yeah, those weirdoes at Item Shop used on me, why?"

"Sniff, I'm allergic to... Atchoo!"

Heather instinctively stepped back. His sneeze wasn't a common sneeze. When he sneezed, many spikes came out from his skin and were heading to Heather's direction. She bit her lips and closed her eyes in panic, until she felt someone touch her shoulder. When she reopened her eyes, she was in the other side of room, and a new guy was there too. He was white-skinned and had dark hair, and was wearing a brown vest with a red shirt and khaki pants.

"Whoa, that was too close!" he said.

"What was that?" Heather asked, still shocked after her near-death experience.

"Sorry, as I said, I'm allergic," Evan replied, ashamed.

"What kind of allergy is that?"

"Oh, that's a very rare kind"

"Yeah, very, very rare." the other man added.

"And why I'm still alive?" she asked, staring at the spikes in the wall.

"Oh, you were very lucky." Evan answered.

"Yeah, very, very lucky." the other young man added again.

"So, hehe, I guess it's time to go." and she went by the door and ran away from the shop.

After she went, they started to talk about her.

"It's better warn Scott she's here, Kurt." the brown-skinned man commented.

"Yeah, I'll go there right now." the black-haired man replied, and teleported out there.

In the alley, Heather was about to enter in the second district, mumbling all the way.

"This town is full of crazy people! First those weird salesmen - canned lettuce, give me a break! And now those aberrations of Accessory Shop, when I'll find someone normal?"

When she entered the second district, she saw a man running desperately. He fell in ground, and turned his head, with his hands lifted, as if he were begging for mercy, screaming of fear. His screams only stopped when a heart came out from him, and he faded away. The heart became a creature and disappeared too. Suddenly, many creatures appeared and started to surround Heather.

"Oh no, the creatures again... What?" she looked at her hand again and the Keyblade appeared again. Without time to think, Heather started to attack the creatures with the Keyblade. One jumped into her direction, but she hit it in the mid-air, and hit other three who were climbing a ladder. One scratched her leg, but was vanquished by her counterattack. Many were defeated but they kept coming. Heather knew she couldn't fight them forever and she ran into a hotel. Upon entering, the building seemed empty.

"Hello, there's somebody here?" she shouted.

"There's no one here, go away!" a voice shouted back.

"Hey, I know this voice! Harold!"

Harold was hiding under the front desk, behind some curtains.

"Harold, get off now!"

"No! Monsters everywhere! Specially a big, purple one!"

"Oh, please they are weaker than you and... They're here"

The creatures appeared again and Heather ran away again, leaving the frightened Harold alone. Luckily, the creatures ignored him. Heather only mind to defeat the creatures when she was surrounded or if they were in her front.

When she reached the third district, she saw nobody there, only a locked door. In the district, a group of five creatures tried to jump at her at the same time, but she managed to give a full swing, defeating three and damaging other two. She approached one of them, which still was in the ground, and hit it with the Keyblade, right in the head, defeating it. The last one rose and advanced into her direction, but she finished it with a straight hit in its chest. After the battle, she decided to return to the first district.

"I hate to see the aberrations again, but there's a save point in their shop, and I'm getting tired to defeat these freaking creatures. They won't give up!"

She returned to the first district, but now it was empty. The creatures had overruled the place. She defeated a few ones and entered in the Accessory Shop to step on the save point. The two young men were there, and the black-haired introduced himself.

"Hey Heather, I didn't tell my name, you may call me Kurt. So, have you found someone?"

"Actually I found Harold... Whoops, I let him with the creatures!"

"Did you forget him? But he could die there!"

"Don't worry, he'll survive." and she left the place.

"Man," Kurt commented, "She is attractive, but has a bad attitude"

"Definitely! I don't think she'll last long against him with this attitude"

When Heather went outside she was accosted by a man with some kind of blue uniform, which had a golden "X" mark in the chest and a deep-red visor, and with brown hair. He started to talk: "They'll come at you out of nowhere."

"Excuse me? Who are you?"

"And they'll keep on coming at you, as long as you continue to wield the Keyblade. But why? Why would it choose a girl like you?"

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?"

"Never mind. Now, let me see that Keyblade..."

"What?" she said, holding the Keyblade, "There's no way you're getting this! It's mine, mine, all mine!"

"All right, then have it your way."

He took his hand to the visor, pressed a button and fired a red blast at her, which hit Heather in the waist, it was a weak one, and she didn't receive much damage.

"Hey, what's up?"

"That was just warming."

"Oh, your freaking laser dork, you gonna see!"

The man fired more two blasts, but Heather dodged them.

"All those years of ballet are useful now," she thought.

She ran into his direction with her Keyblade and attacked him with three hits, but he recovered and kicked her away. Heather was sent to the ground, but quickly recovered, got up and avoided more blasts. She succeeded to deflect one blast with the Keyblade, which went back to the man. He got startled and Heather took advantage to stab him. He took the hit and flew away, falling over some boxes.

"Ha, ha! What a weakling. He thinks he's so smart with that leader pose, but indeed he's nothing than an idiot," she said, loudly and slowly to provoke him. It worked.

A strong red blast went off the boxes to the sky and, after the dust dispersed, the man appeared and seemed to be very angry.

"I HAVE HAD IT! That's no more Mr. Nice Cyclops for you!" he took his hand to the visor and started to shoot, "I just wonder why the Keyblade chose such a nasty," fired one blast, "egomaniac," fired two blasts, "and... bald girl?" fired three blasts, but the last one made him very surprised.

Heather managed to avoid the first, parry the second and duck the third. However her wig disconnected from her head when she ducked, and the blast hit it in the air. The wig was taken away into a wall, started to catch fire and exploded. Even a little mushroom cloud was seen there.

"Chambraigne, huh?" the man commented, sardonically.

"My wig!" she shouted, after staring her wig being reduced to ashes, "My wig is dead! Grr... You think you're angry? You didn't see ANYTHING!"

Heather rushed to him and started to deliver a series of rapid hits. He only could to protect himself with his arms, as Heather relentlessly attacked him, until she knocked him away.

"And... that was... just... the beginning!" she gasped, "You will... will..." and she collapsed to the ground, exhausted.

The man rose, rubbing his arm, staring the bald girl, and then a young woman approached. She was wearing a semi-transparent green blouse over a black sleeveless shirt, black pants and had brown hair with a white detail approached.

"So Scott, what's the feeling on getting beaten by a girl?" she said, with sarcasm.

"You know Rogue," he tried to ignore her irony, "I really learned something today: to never mess with a woman's hair, even if it's fake."

"Yeah, that's a very useful lesson."

"But, seriously, looks like things are worse than we thought. A lot worse..."

* * *

Meanwhile, Donald and Goofy were walking through a dark and shadowy alley, searching for the professor and the key.

"Gawrsh, there's nobody here. Sure is spooky!" Goofy said with his hands on his chin.

"Aw, phooey. I'm not scared," Donald replied, secure of the situation.

Without warning, a young woman rose from the ground behind them, passing through the street like it were air. She was wearing a pink blouse and yellow shirt, jeans and sandals, and had a ponytail in her brown hair. She solidified herself and tapped Donald's shoulder. The duck got scared and grabbed on to Goofy. The girl politely asked:

"Excuse me, did the king send you?"

"Who are you?" Donald asked.

"My name is Katherine, but you may call me Kitty. I'm one of Professor Xavier's students."

"Oh, I see. Please, take us to him."

"Professor Xavier is not in the town today, but I think we may help you. Follow me to the hotel." She went in the hotel direction, passing through the wall.

Donald and Goofy eyed her passing through the wall as if there was nothing, very confused.

"It must be one of those holographic projections. They use to hide important things," Donald commented, trying to explain the situation.

"Gawrsh! Are you sure?"

"Of course I am! Look, I can even run in the same direction she went and noth-WAK!" Donald slammed the wall at high speed. "Ow, my head..."

"I think we should try that door, Donald," Goofy said, pointing to a door written "Hotel" in its top.

"Yeah Goofy, that'd be my next idea."


	6. A New World, pt 2

Finally, the 6th chapter, enjow, review and rate, open 24/day for constructive criticism.

* * *

Inside the hotel room, Heather was lying on the bed, due to overexercise. A voice started to call her.

"Come on, lazy girl. Wake up. I don't have all day."

She finally awakened, but she couldn't see clearly yet.

"You okay?" the blurred figure asked her.

"I guess..."

"Those creatures that attacked you are after the Keyblade. But it's your heart they really want, because you wield the Keyblade."

"Gwen? Is that you?"

"Gwen? Who are you talking about? I'm Rogue."

Her senses were finally restored and she raised herself in the bed, and she saw clearly the goth girl, who wasn't Gwen.

"Great! Another weird goth!"

"Watch your mouth!"

"Where am I?" she looked to the other side of the room and saw Scott. He wasn't wearing his uniform, but a leather jacket over a white shirt, jeans and a ruby-colored glass, yet Heather recognized him. "Hey, aren't you the freaking-one who destroyed my wig?" she started to became angry, "I'm going to..."

Rogue quickly took off her glove and touched Heather's arm, which made her faint. Fifteen minutes later, Heather woke up again, but this time she was tied to the bed.

"Hey, what's the big idea? What are you waiting for set me free?" she shouted.

"Will you calm down?" the man asked her.

"What? I want to get off, NOW!" she started to struggle.

"All this rage for a wig?"

"Okay, okay, I'll stop," she said, still angry, "The weirdoes from Item Shop busted my wig anyway..." she calmed down and Rogue untied her. Heather went straight to the sandwiches on the table.

The goth commented: "What a shaky girl! No wonder those creatures are tracking her so easily, right Cyclops?"

"That's Scott." He replied, "Take her to this place was the only way to conceal your heart from them. But it won't work for long. Still hard to believe that you of all people are the chosen one."

Scott picked the Keyblade, which was at the side of the bed, and stared at her. The Keyblade disappeared in his hand and reappeared in Heather's hand. In one hand she had the Keyblade and in another a cheese sandwich.

"Well, I suppose beggars can't be choosers." He commented.

"Why don't you start making sense?! What on earth is going on here?"

--

In the neighboring room, Kitty was talking with Donald and Goofy.

"Okay," she started to talk, "you know there are many other worlds out there besides your castle and this town, right?"

"Yeah." Donald answered.

"But they're supposed to be a secret," Goofy added.

"They've been secret because they've never been connected. Until now. When the Heartless came, everything changed." she replied.

--

"The Heartless?" Heather queried, open-mouthed.

"The ones who attacked you, you remember?" Rogue answered.

"Those without hearts. The darkness in people's hearts - that's what attracts them. And there is darkness within every heart. There are many types of them... those that attacked you are called 'shadows'." Scott completed.

"Hey, I don't think so, but have you ever heard about someone named Magneto?"

--

"Magneto?" Goofy asked, disconcerted.

"He was a powerful mutant who was studying the Heartless. He recorded all of his findings in a very detailed report." Kitty answered.

"Gawrsh, uh... can we see it?"

"Its pages are scattered everywhere."

"Scattered?" Donald asked.

"Yeah, its pages are lost in too many worlds."

"Oh, then maybe the king went to find 'em." Goofy pondered.

"Yes, those were Professor Xavier's thoughts exactly."

"We've gotta find him quick!"

"Wait! First, we need that 'key'!" Donald remarked.

"That's right. The Keyblade."

--

"So... this is the key?" Heather said, finishing her sandwich and holding the Keyblade.

"Exactly!" Rogue answered.

"The Heartless have great fear of the Keyblade. That's why they'll keep coming after you no matter what." Scott continued.

"Well, I didn't ask for this." Heather said, turning her nose up.

"The Keyblade chooses its master. And it chose you." said Rouge.

"So tough luck..." Scott commented.

"How did all this happen? I remember being in the lot... Wait a minute! What happened to my home?"

"You know what? I really don't know." Scott answered, unmoving. The room became silent. Worry with others wasn't Heather's best trait, but she asked:

"Everyone disappeared? Even... my... mom?" she asked sadly.

"Now she is caring for someone?" he thought and answered, "I don't know. We've found refugees from other worlds and Kurt said you found an acquaintance in this hotel. It sounds like those who are in the epicenter of the Heartless' attack can somehow survive and be taken away to another world."

"That's explains why Harold and I are here." she replied, "So, that means others must be here too."

"I guess we could search for them later. But I must warn you: sooner or later, the Heartless will find you. You'd best prepare yourself."

"Prepare yourself?"

"To fight for your life. Are you ready?"

"Whatever..."

"I think she didn't get it," he thought again and turned to Rogue, "Rogue, let's go join Kitty. She should be there by now with the other visitors."

"Scott, watch out!" Rogue cried, as a soldier heartless appeared in the room.

"Rogue, go!" he said, "Heather, we need to get out here!" Scott took his glasses off for a few seconds and shot a red blast that sent the Heartless outside, breaking a window in the process. "How can he do this?" Heather wondered and got up, following Scott to the alley, while Rogue ran into the adjacent room, and when she opened the door, she accidentally flattening Donald between the door and the wall, without paying attention to the "wak".

"Rogue?!" Kitty said.

"Move out! They're here!" and they let the room, leaving Donald and Goofy inside.

"Ow... let's move too, Goofy!" when he was about to open the door, he was flattened again, this time by Harold, who was running and screaming "Monsters!" He ran and jumped out to the alley, falling like a potato bag. He saw Heather and Scott battling three soldiers heartless.

"Heather what are you doing? And why you have this thing?" he asked pointing to the Keyblade.

"It's a long story," she answered as she dodged a headbutt, "Whoa, this one is tricky!"

"Heather, save me!" he cried, clutching her arm.

"What? Gimme a break! I won't be your bodyguard. Fight by yourself!" she replied, forcing him back.

"But I'm so scared... Wait, I still have my nunchakus!" He picked his nunchakus and started to swing them. When a soldier dashed in his direction, he countered with one swing and defeated it with another.

"Yeah! I've got one!" however, when he finished the phrase, a soldier attacked him by the back. "Ouch! Gosh!"

"Don't bother with the small fry, Heather," Scott said, "Find the leader. Let's go!" and he ran away.

"Leader? How I suppose to know who is the leader, they're all the same!"

"Hey Heather, I have an idea! The leader is always the bigger one, and I saw it," Harold commented.

"Really? Where?"

"I saw it going to the Third District."

"What are you waiting for? Move your butt there!"

"Affirmative!"

And so Heather, with her Keyblade, and Harold, with his nunchakus, teamed up and rushed to the Third District, fighting their way to district.

--

Meanwhile, in a world far way from them, LeShawna was awakening.

"Oh boy, where am I?" she said. That was a very strange place, with floating platforms, and weird waterfall, which were flowing to the other way that LeShawna was used to see. However, in the farthest platform, and a ghastly woman was smirking at her.

--

Donald and Goofy managed to leave the hotel reach the Third District. They were in a balcony when they were surrounded by some soldiers.

"Gawrsh, are these the Heartless guys?"

"Let's go get 'em, Goofy!"

But their charge didn't go as expected. The king's servants were struck and fell of the balcony, landing on Heather and Harold, who just arrived at the place. When they were on them, they saw the Keyblade and exclaimed at the same time, "The key!"

When they got up, Heather asked, "Who are you? Talking animals?"

Suddenly, large walls emerged from the floor and blocked all exits; they were surrounded again by four soldier heartless, which were ready to attack. "It's a thwap!" blurted out Harold, trying to imitate someone. The king's servants didn't pay attention and Heather rolled her eyes. Donald cried, "No time to babble, we need to get rid of them!"

"Ok, we are four, they are four, let's split!" Heather planned.

Donald launched a blast of magic fire at one of them by his staff, following an icy blast, while Goofy got the other with his shield, and hit it three times until defeating it. Heather struck her target three times and sent it flying away and finished it with a stab whilst it was on the ground. Harold attacked with a jumping nunchaku technique and defeated his enemy.

"Ok, now that they're gone, you owe me some explanations." Heather demanded.

"Gawrsh, I don't think it's the best hour!" Goofy said, pointing to the sky. Various pieces of armor were floating, two arms with claws, two feet, a torso, with a great dark-red crossed heart symbol, and a helmet, and they assembled themselves as a giant purple Heartless, the Guard Armor.

The enormous creature advanced in their direction and slashed Heather with its claws. She took the hit and stepped back, Donald cast a fire spell to try to make it stop its attack. Goofy charged at its right foot, while Harold tried to attack its left hand. Heather recovered from the attack and charged its right foot with all strength she could get together, delivering a series of combos. The Heartless stepped back and jumped where they were, making its body parts fall like rocks on them, but the group barely escaped, they jumped out in the right moment. When they got up, Harold had an idea.

"Hey, let's concentrate our firepower in one part!"

"Gotcha!" Donald agreed, launching a fire blast at the right foot. Goofy used a spinning attack that hit both feet and Harold hit the right foot until he was hit by a punch from the Heartless, and stepped back. Heather jumped, holding the Keyblade with both hands, at the foot and plunged the blade in its right foot, breaking the armor piece apart. Then, the creature detached its remaining feet, and started to kick Goofy. He used his shield to protect himself and Donald cast Blizzard and made the raging foot stop its attack for a while.

"Thanks Donald!" and Goofy proceeded to attack the foot. Meanwhile, the creature started to spin around, which sent Heather and Harold flying away. The monster tried to slash Heather again, but she counterattacked and parried the hit. This somehow startled the enemy and made it jerk on the ground.

"It's defenseless, charge!" the queen bee ordered to the others.

They attacked with everything they got, Harold with his nunchakus, Goofy with his spinning shield attack, Donald with his Thunder and Heather with the Keyblade. The enemy was very damaged but got up and sent Heather's group away with its spinning claws.

"Time to use this!" she said as she opened a potion, restoring her health.

The remaining foot started to stomp everything in sight again, this time it was heading to Heather's direction. Realizing this, she jumped and attacked with an aerial three-hit combo. Donald shot another fireball at the foot and broke it down. The creature was now feetless. Goofy was striking its right arm, and Harold its torso, when the monster started to spin again.

"No, not again!" Heather said, in an offensive stance.

When Guard Armor approached with its spinning attack, Heather was focusing herself and attacked it in the very moment when the torso was about to hit her. The monster got startled again and Heather attacked its right arm, with help from the others. The right arm finally shattered.

"Let's concentrate on the torso!" she said.

Goofy and Harold jumped at the creature at the same time and by few inches they didn't hit each other with their weapons, nevertheless the assault at the creature was successful, dealing some damage.

"Gosh! It's better we don't do this again!"

"Gawrsh! I agree!" and they resumed to the battle.

Donald used "Fire" once more and Heather attacked the creature again, with the Keyblade. The creature tried to fight back with its remaining arm, but it missed; it wasn't even floating anymore. Heather, then, ran in its direction and attacked with a straight strike, right at the symbol, piercing the armor. The creature started to tremble and its helmet exploded. A giant heart floated out to the sky from the torso as it faded away. Heather and her frie-I mean, associates had won.

After the battle, she sat on the ground, tired and enquired her allies.

"So, now the menace has finally gone, I think I deserve some explanations."

"Okay, we came from a world called 'Disney Castle', and our king assigned us to a mission, to find the key and its master." the duck said.

"Yeah, and we're lookin' at her right now, a-hyuck." the dog added.

"Umm..."

"They also have been seeking the wielder of the Keyblade." Scott said, stepping down the ramp, accompanied with Rogue.

"Where were you? I just had a tough battle here!" she complained, angrily.

"You mean 'we', isn't Heather?" Harold trying to be remembered.

"Yeah, yeah, they helped a little too."

"This is no problem anymore," Scott said, trying to calm her down, "The point is that they," he pointed to Donald and Goofy, "can help you find your friends."

"Yes, of course," Donald said, but Goofy grabbed him and asked with whispers, "Are you sure?"

"Who knows?" he answered, "But we need her to come with us to help us find the king."

"Ha! Those slackers are no good; I doubt they need to be rescued," she said, with her typical prancing, "I'll stay in this world and things are going to improve here, after the big monster officially became dust!"

Scott's jaw dropped. He never met such a selfish person; he was so angry that he was about to take off his glasses and spank her like there's no tomorrow when Harold intervened.

"But LeShawna is somewhere in the skies, we must find her!"

"LeShawna?" she said, surprised.

"Yes, LeShawna is your friend, Heather, and so I'm your friend too. We must find her. I couldn't live without her almond eyes boo hoo hoo..." he starts to weep, taking off his glasses to wipe out the tears.

"And your mother, Heather," Rogue observed, "The Keyblade may help you find her."

"My... mom?" she said, sadly. Harold, who knew Heather for some time, became surprise when she was about to cry.

"Fine," she said, still looking down.

"But you can't come along looking like that. Understand? No frowning. No sad face. Okay?" Donald remarked.

"Yeah, ya gotta look funny, like us!" Goofy added, with Donald pushing his face.

"This boat runs on happy faces." the duck completed.

Heather didn't say anything. She turned her head up, still frowning.

"What have I said about happy faces?" Donald tried to make things easy.

But she wasn't the cooperative type. Heather only frowned and glared harder. They started to think that her next movement was yell profanities, but Harold grabbed her cheek and forced a smile with his hands.

"Hehe, that's some happy face!" he said, smiling too.

"I think we can accept that..." Goofy commented.

"Take your hands off my face Harold!" she said, "Well, do I have choice? It looks like I have to go with you."

"I'm coming too!" Harold added. "Only you can help me find my beloved LeShawna…" he said, almost crying, until Heather slapped the back of his head.

"He's coming too, Donald?" Goofy whispered again.

"He seems to know how to deal with her, it's better we take him too." Donald answered the knight and formally introduced himself, "Donald Duck."

"Name's Goofy."

"Heather."

"And I'm Harold."

Donald, Goofy and Harold place their hand on each other and ask Heather for do it.

"C'mon Heather, let's do this!" Harold said.

"Fine. This is not really necessary, but if the dumbheads wants to be happy, why should I deny this?" And so she also placed her hand over theirs.

"All for one, one for all!" Goofy cried and they lift their hands.

--

Without even go by their minds, they were being watched. In a distant world, some evil-doers were meeting at a poorly illuminated room; they were watching Heather and her allies defeating Guard Armor and talking about their mission.

"That little squirt took down that Heartless! Who'd have thought it?" the blue figure with burning hair commented.

"Such is the power of the Keyblade. The child's strength is not his own." the tiny noble figure with big hat and a red mantle replied.

"Why don't we turn him into a Heartless?" the purple octopus-like figure suggested with an evil laugh, "That'll settle things quick enough. And she seems easy!"

"Why should we care with them, anyway? Her world was a massive addition to our armies." the dark-blue skinned figure, with white dress and fire-red hair, disdained.

"And the brat's friends are the king's lackeys. Swoggle me eyes, they're all bilge rats by the look of them." a gray-bearded pirate scoffed.

"You're no prize yourself." the dirty white figure scorned him and laughed.

"Shut up!"

"Enough!" their leader, a pale green-skinned woman, with a dark cloth covering all her body, wielding a staff, ordered, "he Keyblade has chosen her. Will it be she who conquers the darkness? Or will the darkness swallow her? Either way, she could be quite useful..."

Suddenly, a door was opened, illuminating some places of the room and the grim woman.

"Maleficent!" it was Chris MacLean, together with Chef Hatchet, "Here's the report!" and he gave her a briefcase.

"Ah, it was about time..." Maleficent opened the briefcase and had various papers, DVDs and CDs, containing data about Heather, LeShawna and the others. "Now I can see with whom we are dealing."

"It's everything here, now where's my part of the deal?"

"It's on the table," and she pointed to some kind of camera lying on the table, "Now, go away before I change my mind."

"As you wish." the former host grabbed the camera and went away the room.

--

In the next morning, in Traverse Town, the group was receiving the last advices from Scott, Rogue, Kitty, Kurt and Evan.

"Make sure you're prepared for the journey ahead of you. We don't know how far the Heartless have spread." Scott warned.

"Check out the shops here. They've got some pretty neat stuff!" Rogue said.

"We can make a special price, only for the Keyblade wielder!" Evan said, joyfully.

"Believe me, goth," Heather said and pointing to the Item Shop, "There's nothing neat at that shop." They heard an explosion sound and Moltar yelling, "Space Ghost, don't make experiments with the boiler!"

"Okay..." Kitty said embarrassed, "This is from all of us." and she gave her a bag containing 100 munny, the money used in Traverse Town and some other worlds. "Spend it as you see fit. And this is from Leon." and she gave her an elixir.

"Good luck." Rogue said.

"I guess I should be thankful." Heather answered.

"That wasn't for you, but for those three poor ones that have to put up with you." Rogue replied, while Heather frowned.

"I hope you find your friends." Kitty said, gleeful.

"Look out for each other. Keep your spirits up." Scott desired.

"Don't ever give up." Kurt encouraged them.

"Show the Heartless who is the boss!" Evan cheered.

And as they walked to the gate, Donald started to talk about their transportation.

"The gummi ship is outside that gate."

"The what?" Heather asked.

"That's our ship."

"Wait 'til you see it!" Goofy added.

"I can't believe I'm going to fly through the space!" Harold cheered.

"I can't believe I have to go in this mad adventure!" Heather mumbled.

"Hold on." Donald called her attention, "Heather, this is for you." and he gave her a red crystal. "This crystal allows you to use Fire magic."

"Okay, let's try..." she summoned the Keyblade.

"I believe the Keyblade can be used as staff or a wand to launch magic attacks." Donald explained. "You only need to say 'Fire' to cast the spell."

She pointed the Keyblade right at Donald's head. "Heather, what are you trying to do?" he asked, concerned.

"Fire!" Donald closed his eyes and tried to block the burning spell with his hands, but nothing happened. "See, you're such a mumbo-jumbo." His discomfort became angry and then surprise, because he couldn't explain why the spell didn't work.

"Umm, Heather, this is for you" and Goofy gave her an instruction paper that taught her how to use the ability Dodge Roll.

"At least one thing is useful here." She answered and continued, "Well, is that it? Let's get going."

Jiminy Cricket who was also accompanying them commented with himself, "Well, I see big adventures coming their way! Looks like it's up to me to keep track of it all in my journal!"

--

As they were making the last preparations, another ship was flying through the space...

"So, where we're we going, Chris?" Chef asked, while piloting their ship. Chef wasn't used to the ship and crashed into many asteroids.

"Ouch!" the former host answered, bouncing in his seat, "Chef, can't you be more careful? This thing will ruin my hair!"

"It's my first time!" he shouted back.

"Did you read the instructions book?"

"Instructions books are for maggots!"

"Oh, please..." Then he turned to Phil and Stu, "And you two, have you finish reading the Magistealth Camera instructions book?"

"Not yet," Phil answered.

"Read line per line, carefully! I don't want to waste this babe!" Chris shouted impatient and then realized he didn't give the coordinates to Chef.

"Ow, how could I forget?" and he left his seat and pressed some buttons in the panel. "There," he pointed to a red dot in the ship's navigation system, "Maleficent won't bother us in that place. Remember, we must follow the plan! When we arrive, we'll start to assemble the studio. Let's start thinking about a title." He returned to his seat and started to write some suggestions. After two hours, he finally finished.

"Hey, this title is wonderful! What do you think, Chef?" and he showed the title to him.

"Boss," Chef tried to warn him, "You can't use this title, is already being utilized."

"Damn... so, what about this one?"

"You can't use that either..."

"My... where did these titles have been allocated? In some crazy story at..."

"Boss," Phil interrupted, whispering, "don't break the fourth wall!"

Chris rolled his eyes and thought for more two hours about a title, when they finally arrived at the destination.

"Finally! A title that nobody used yet!" he grinned, with his trademark giggle, "I can't wait to see Heather's face..."

* * *

That thing about Heather thinking Rogue was Gwen means nothing, it's just to follow the original. By the way, I thin that Gwen's design was somewhat based on Rogue's design, from X-Men Evolution. Also, I had to assign a name for the other intern, nameless in the show.


	7. Stuck in the middle of Nowhere, pt 1

**Note: **I replaced Wonderland by Nowhere, from _Courage, the Cowardly Dog_ series; this makes part of the story. Some world will be replaced, while others will be mantained, mostly due to plot issues. Also, this will be running in a Chris reality show-style, so I'd like to ask something: shall I mantain the current title, _Kingdom Hearts: The One Wigged Angel _or the ancient title is better, _Total Drama Worlds_? ERR, :)

_

* * *

_

_Hello ladies and gentlemen, I'm Chris MacLean_ (He's sitting on a chair, in a studio which location can't be exactly defined, and gets up)_, and we are broadcasting to you our new reality-show: TOTAL... DRAMA... WORLDS! Here's the back-story: our home world was destroyed _(shows the massive black orb in the Red Leaf Country sky)_ by some creatures known as Heartless_ (shows footage of a group of four shadows, being lead by a soldier). _But, you know, if life gives you lemons, make lemonade_ (he gets a cup of lemonade and drink its), _tasty! However, we don't need to be hopeless: there exists an ethereal weapon called Keyblade _(shows a close of the Keyblade at Scott's hand)_, and, when darkness is about to overrun the worlds, the Keyblade chooses someone to save the day. And our chosen one is our favorite queen bee, Heather _(shows footage of Heather battling the Guard Armor)_, but I can't understand why they didn't choose me._ _So, with help of her allies _(shows Harold, Donald and Goofy also battling the Heartless)_, we will follow her_ _in the journey to battle the darkness through the worlds and restore the order in the universe. Will Heather be able to defeat the darkness, in spite of her humor_ (shows Heather frowning and glaring at Donald)_? Will Harold find LeShawna _(shows Harold weeping)_? Will Donald and Goofy find the King _(shows Donald and Goofy whispering about Heather)_? Or will they the darkness overpower them _(shows Guard Armor attacking the group and sending them flying away)_? Find out in TOTAL... DRAMA... WORLDS! _(cue to theme song)

"Grr..." Heather growled while watching the gummi ship's TV, "I can't believe Chris is using me in another show! He is SO dead!"

"I wouldn't be surprised if he's the one behind the Heartless attack." Harold said, tapping his chin.

"Strange guy, a-hyuck!" Goofy commented.

"And how can he film us?" Heather asked.

"No time for blabbering," Donald interrupted, "We're about to arrive in a world!"

"Oh, really?! What's the name?" Heather asked.

"Nowhere!" the duck answered.

"Oh, great name," he replied, rolling her eyes, "We know what we would expect..."

**Nowhere**

Chip and Dale parked the gummi ship in a parking lot, while Heather, Harold, Donald and Goofy stepped out and were at the entrance.

"So, what's we're looking for, Donald?" Harold asked, rubbing the back of his head.

"We must find the King, and-WAK!" Donald was talking, but was suddenly interrupted and by a high noise and got scared. The noise came from the honk of an ATV, driven by... Chris MacLean?

"Heather! Harold! Good to see ya, how's doing?" the host asked, grinning unsuspectfully.

"Ah, it's you, Chris! This is another stupid program, aren't you?" the queen bee uttered, angry, "I bet you're doing this to us only for fun and our world wasn't destroyed!"

"He he he, very funny Heather," the host talked back, showing his hand, like there's nothing wrong, "Actually, our world was REALLY," he emphasized the 'really', waving his arms, "destroyed by the Heartless and, this time, I had nothing to do with this."

"This time?"

"Yes, and I'm only here to give you the prize from defeating Guard Armor and clearing the first challenge: the Brave Warrior!" and Chris threw away the accessory to her. "This will increase your health and slightly increase your offensive power in the battle. Make good use!" and he drove away the ATV.

"Wait, Chris!" Heather tried to call him back, but he went in the direction of the center of the town. Clenching her fists, she ordered the others "Grr... Let's follow him!"

"But, Heather..." Donald tried to calm her.

"He may know something, follow him NOW!" and she ran in the direction he went.

"I guess we can't do anything," Harold shrugged and they follow her.

Nowhere was a calm town, few cars on the streets, people quietly walking through the sidewalks, the perfect place to be nowhere.

"Wow, how could you lose Chris in this tiny town?" Heather complained to the others.

"Hey, it wasn't we who ran desperately in his direction," Harold replied.

"At least I can run."

"You two, stop!" Donald commanded, "We don't have time for this!"

"Oh, please," Heather talked back, turning her nose up, "How long have you been mindlessly following this King's orders?"

"Don't talk like this about our King, Heather," Goofy said, trying to settle the things, "Our King is a good and honest ruler. We are proud of being his servants!"

Heather became silent, not before shrugging and rolling her eyes, and returned to her search. But she sighted other person in the other side of the street.

"Hey, Harold," Heather said, nudging his arm, "Isn't that..."

"Beth!"

Beth was running the faster she could, and a purple dog was following her closely. They could hear she saying, "C'mon Courage, we're late!" the dog only replied with gibberish.

"Maybe she knows something," Donald said.

"Ok, let's follow her!" Heather added. They followed her until a big building, the First Court of Justice of Nowhere. They entered and sat on the pews, next to Beth and the dog, behind the defense attorney. When she saw Harold, she said gleefully, "Harold! Is that you?! I'm so happy!" she hugged him and gave many kisses in his cheek.

"Yes, Beth, I'm glad to see you," he answered, forcing her back. When she saw Heather, she took a more serious stance and scoffed, "So, Heather, lost your wig again?"

"None of your business!" she replied, frowning.

Then, she returned to her joyful spirit and asked Harold, "Who are the new guys?"

"These are Donald and Goofy."

"Nice to meet you," Donald greeted.

"Nice to meet you, too, a-hyuck!" Goofy said, also greeting her.

"Likewise." she grinned to them, "This is Courage," and the purple dog waved and gave a huge smile to them, "But, why are you hanging out with Heather?"

"Gawrsh, it's a long story" Goofy said, "It's because..."

When Goofy was about to explain, a tall and chubby policeman, with a big red-haired moustache, said loudly, "Silence! The Court is now in session! His Excellency, the Mayor, presiding!" Everyone got up to show deference and sat down.

"It's better we talk about this, when it's finished." Goofy whispered to Beth. A tiny bald figure, wearing his toga, sat down in the judge's chair and muttered, "I expect this to be quick..."

"Today," the policeman continued, "the case is Eustace Baggs vs. Muriel Baggs. Bring the defendant!" And an elderly woman, wearing glasses, a yellow dress, white apron and black rubber boots was brought and sat in the dock.

"Hmm, she seems innocent," Harold commented, whispering.

"She IS innocent!" Beth added, and then she tapped the attorney's back and whispered, "Please, Dr. Vindaloo, we can't let her be punished."

"Don't worry, Beth. I'm a medic, but I learned many things watching those TV series and reading articles in Wikipedia."

Beth and Courage looked worried to each other; Muriel's medic was also her lawyer, he even was wearing his medic outfit. The prosecutor, a red cat, with yellow sly eyes and wearing tie and suit, took the word.

"He really looks like a lawyer," Heather commented.

Courage tried to say something and Beth translated to them, "Courage said he's Katz, one of his bitterest enemies."

"So, we've gotta problems," Harold said.

"And the jury is full of unfriendly people." Beth added. All enemies of Courage were in the jury: Dr. LeQuack, Benton Tarantella, Errol von Volkheim, Jeeves Weevil, the Queen of Black Puddle, the Chicken from Outer Space (a walking roasted chicken), Dr. Gerbil, the Great Fusilli, the Quilt Sisters (they were counted as two persons), the Cruel Vet and the Cajun Fox.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I'd like to call Eustace Baggs!"

The farmer, with red cap, green trousers and orange shirt, went to the witness stand.

"Now, Mr. Baggs, do you know why you're here?"

"It's because someone tried to steal my heart!"

Harold, Heather, Donald and Goofy gulped, they knew what this meant.

"And," the cat continued, "Can you show us who tried to do this?"

Then, he looked at the courtroom and shouted, "It's her!" he pointed his accusative finger to Muriel, "She tried to steal my heart!" The entire audience went awe.

"Order! Order!" screamed the policeman.

"No," she said, disconsolate, "Eustace, how can you do this to me after all those years? How..." and she sobbed away.

"Guys," whispered Harold, "Shouldn't we help her?"

"Yeah, but..." Donald answered, somewhat powerless.

"We're outsiders, so wouldn't that be... muddling?" Goofy replied.

"Meddling!"

"Oh, yeah. And that's against the rules."

"SCREW THE RULES, I'M THE STARSHIP CAPTAIN!" Harold cried, the loudest he could, raising his fists to the air. Everyone turned their heads and stared at him.

"Do you have anything to say, son?" the judge asked, politely but impatient.

"Nope, hehe... Sorry..." he replied, red-faced.

"Harold," Heather angrily whispered to him, elbowing his arm, "Focus! This is not our objective!"

"Bu-bu-bu-but Heather, she's innocent, don't you care with this?" Beth asked, stunned with her attitude, but her reply was only a dry 'no'.

"Heather," the farmer girl begged her, with tears in her eyes, "Please..." Heather tried to say no, but Harold, Goofy, Donald and Courage were glaring at her so furiously that she had to accept.

"Fine," she sighed, "When it's defense turn, call me."

The prosecutor was showing a cartoon of how Muriel, who was portrayed as monster with large fangs, tried to steal Eustace heart, with a... triple-bladed machine gun butcher's knife?

"And," Katz completed, "my client barely escaped, only with his very clothes. Ladies and gentlemen, our town is not a safe place with this maniac," he pointed his finger to Muriel, "roaming freely. She must be outcaste! And that's end my presentation."

"Cannwe say _guilty_, now?" the Great Fusilli asked.

"No," all the villains, I mean, the jury answered back.

"The defense has something to declare?" the judge asked Dr. Vindaloo.

"The defense calls Heather!"

"What?" Eustace, Katz, the jury, everyone watched astonished as the bald skinny girl walked to the stand.

"Your Excellence," Katz, tried to obstruct, "It's an undeclared witness, and you can't hear her."

"Whatever," he replied, lukewarm, "After the session is finished, she signs the papers."

Dr. Vindaloo walked in her direction and asked, "So, Heather, if Muriel is not the real culprit, who is then?"

Goofy tried to say 'Heartless', but Donald covered his mouth before he could finish.

She grimaced and said, "Yeah, she's not the one you're looking for."

"Protest!" Katz yelled, "That's nonsense. Have you any proof?"

"Protest accepted," the judge said, "Heather, do you have any proof?"

"Not now, but I can bring you something."

"Okay," the judge knocked his hammer and said, "The court is now in recess. Lunch time."

After the session, Beth hugged tightly Heather, squealing, and thanking her, "I never thought I'd say that one day, but thank you, Heather! Thank you so much!"

"I think I'll regret this..." Heather replied, disgusted. "Let's go to a restaurant, I'm hungry!"

When they left the court, Eustace screamed unsure "Katz, that stupid bald girl will foil our plans, we must do something!"

"Don't worry, with my strategy, she can't do anything to change the sentence," Katz remarked slyly, "Still, go watch her and her strange friends."

"Aye!"

They went to a nearby restaurant and they started to talk about what happened to them, with Eustace watching them by a distant table.

"So, how do you know Muriel and Courage?" Harold asked Beth.

"She's very special for me!"

FLASHBACK

Beth finally awakened and found herself in another world. There was nothing in her sight, only an arid wilderness and point, looking like a building, in the horizon. She had no option but to walk in its direction. It started to rain, Beth soon became soggy. Her steps were slow, but she managed to reach the house and knocked the door. She heard someone saying, "See who's there, stupid dog!" and the purple dog named Courage opened the door. Initially, the dog shrieked in fear, but when Muriel approached to see, he calmed down. The woman looked at the soaked and hungry girl with kindness and desire to help.

END FLASHBACK

"She let me live in the barn. I helped to take care of the farm and I played everyday with Courage and Muriel, despite Eustace manners, but, if I survived you," she looked at Heather, smirking, "I could handle him." Guess what Heather did, when she listened that?

"But," Beth continued, deepening her voice, "some days earlier, Eustace had been acting very strange and he accused Muriel of try stealing his heart. I don't know what he's planning, but it's not nice!"

"I bet the Heartless have something to do with this mess!" Donald exclaimed.

"Who?"

"The Heartless..." and so, they explained everything to Beth.

"And Heather is the chosen one? Oh, dear..." she said, upon finishing hearing everything.

The chat was suddenly stopped by a short, red-haired woman. She went in Heather's direction and made a question, "Oh, my dear, why such a beautiful girl like you has no hair?"

She sighed and answered, "It's a weird story..."

"Don't worry, take this," and she handed a card, written _Growth Industries_ in green, with a brown wig under the title, "Go there after the lunch, I'll be waiting." And she walked away, but, before leaving the restaurant, she muttered, "Stupid son."

Courage got up from his seat and went to see if he was really there. Yes, Eustace was there, snoozing. The purple dog mumbled some gibberish again.

"He's saying that was Eustace's mother and he's here in the restaurant, but he's sleeping." Beth translated to them.

"You actually know what he's saying?" Heather asked.

"Of course, he's my friend!" Beth answered, like it was the most natural thing in the world, "Wait, Courage didn't finish. He said he took the keys of the truck and he's saying we must follow him to find the evidence to clear Muriel."

"So, let's hurry, but we need to pay the bill yet," Harold commented.

Heather smirked and answered looking at the sleeping farmer, "I think we shouldn't worry about it."

* * *

**Note:** No battles in this chapter, due to plot issues, but in the next there will be some.


	8. Stuck in the middle of Nowhere, pt 2

**A.N.:** Here's the last chapter. I'll publish the conclusion of this world in the next chapter, because I thought I was too long, so I've splitted the chapter.

* * *

"Seriously, how that dog can drive? He doesn't even have opposite thumbs!" Heather asked Beth, pointing to Courage, who was driving the truck. Harold, who was showing his skills with the keyboard, Donald and Goofy were in the cart, whilst the girls were inside the truck.

"Courage is a skillful driver, he can handle a truck easily," she said, as the truck bounced and made Heather beat her head in the ceiling, "but, you know, errors may happen sometimes, hehe."

Heather crossed her arms, and asked again, "So, where the wimpy dog is is leaving us?"

"He says he knows someone that can help."

"Hey, isn't that Growth Industries?" Heather said, pointing to the sign of a big building, "Let's stop there."

"I don't know… what do you think, Courage?"

Behind Beth, Heather gave the dog a frightening look, and he nodded in agreement, shivering. Beth, who was used to see Courage like this, didn't worry. Next stop was Growth Industries. He parked the truck and they stepped out and entered at the building. They were greeted by the receptionist.

"Welcome to Growth Industries, your well-being is our happiness, how can we help you?"

"A red-haired short woman gave me this card." Heather showed the card.

"Okay," she got the phone, cued to some words and answered, "you may go up. Mrs. Baggs is waiting for you at the 15th floor. Have a nice day!"

They took the elevator and reached the floor, with Courage gripping Beth's head. They were received by Eustace's mother.

"Good, you came!" she said, lifting her arms in joy, "By the way, I didn't ask your name, my dear."

"It's Heather."

"And mine is..." before Harold could finish the phrase, he was harshly interrupted by Ma Baggs.

"I didn't ask yours!"

"Gosh!" he said, with a low voice.

"Now, Heather," she said, returning to smile at her, "I want to show something special."

"A wig?" Heather asked, hopeful. Ma Baggs nodded and Heather squealed, like Katie and Sadie. Harold and Beth only stared blankly at her.

"What? You've never seen me excited?"

Ma Baggs pressed a button, and a white room was revealed. In the room, there was a silver-colored wig over a support.

"It's almost like my normal hair, just shorter," Heather commented, amazed.

"Pick it, Heather," Ma Baggs said.

Heather did as said, "Well, it's very comfy! And silver matches with me!"

"Who'd use a silver wig?" Beth asked.

"None of your business, you understand nothing of fashion!" Heather replied, turning her nose up.

"Umm, Heather," Harold said, "there's something glowing at the pocket of your short."

"What? What are you looking at?"

"N-n-n-nothing, only because there's something glowing!"

"I knew it!" Ma Baggs said, "I knew that you own a magic gem. The Geiger counter never lies!"

"But the Geiger counter only tracks radioactive emanations," Harold commented, surprised.

"This a modified Geiger counter," the old woman elucidated, "it finds magic emanations, like the duck's staff and magic gems."

"This red thing here?" the silver-wigged girl said, picking the red gem, "the duck gave to me."

"Hmm, the duck must know one or two things about magic," Ma Baggs said, sarcastically.

"Hey, I'm a magician!" the duck replied, "It took many years with master Yen Sid!"

"Correct. To learn magic, like the way the duck learnt, it's necessary years of practice," the old woman started to explain, "but this technology will allow normal people to use magic without needing so many years. I just required a magic gem, like yours, to begin the real tests. Heather, set the gem free!"

The gem started to glow more and finally floated in the air. When it reached some height, it became a red powder and "entered" in the wig.

"Now, do you have something to use as a magic connector, like a wand or staff?" the old woman asked again.

"I have!" and Heather summoned the Keyblade.

"Test the power of fire!" and Ma Baggs pressed a button. Three dummy targets showed up.

"Do as I said before, Heather," Donald said, reminding her.

Heather pointed the Keyblade for the first one and said "Fire". Her wig became red, and a fire ball got out from the Keyblade and hit the target, incinerating it. "Wow, I did it!"

"Yeah," Beth said, "and your wig went red."

"Gah? How did..." she said, taking off the wig.

"Don't worry," Ma Baggs said, "that's how your magic shows. You'll eventually find more gems, and different the magic, different the color. It returns to the default color after a while."

"Thanks," and she replaced the wig and tested her new power at the targets, for a while. She was more secure after receiving the new wig.

Twenty minutes later, they were again at the entrance of Growth Industries. Ma Baggs was making the last requests.

"Heather, use it for a while, and then bring me the results. By the way, do you know where's my stupid son? Didn't he come with you?"

"Ha! I guess he's too busy..."

Meanwhile, Eustace was in the restaurant's kitchen, doing the dishes, muttering and groaning, "Stupid bald girl... Stupid duck... Stupid nerd... Stupid dogs... Stupid vagrant girl... Stupid old witch..."

Back to the truck, they'd already hit the road, leaving the limits of the urban area of Nowhere.

"So, what this dog is looking for, Beth?" Heather asked.

"He says he knows a gypsy named Shirley. Courage is sure she can help Muriel. We have no time to lose." Beth answered.

"This could take a while. The return from the recess is in two hours... Guess we can't save the old lady."

"Heather!" Beth shouted, indignant.

"What I said?" Heather replied, then she changed the topic, "And you, what was that idea of _Total... Drama... Games_...?" she said mocking Chris' way of talking.

"_Post Total Drama Action Games_, it was the special between the seasons..."

"So you were confabulating with Chris to drag us out to another show!" she said this grabbing Beth's collar.

"I had no choice!" Beth tried to explain herself, "Chris said I wasn't qualified to the new season, since I won TDA. He said he wanted to impress the audience, so I agreed..."

"SO YOU HAD CHOICE!"

Beth frowned and blurted out, as she pulled Heather away, "Don't shout at me! Choices aren't your best business, because you always choose bad choices!"

Heather released Beth and crossed her arms, "You understand nothing! Do you think I choose being the Keyblade wielder?"

"I'm not talking about things you can't control, but about yourself, and you always choose to be mean and evil!" Beth yelled, still angry.

Heather didn't answered, only turned to the side, stared the landscape, and muttered something like, "Not always..." sighing.

The guys watched the argument and were without words, but Harold tried to appease the situation, "Hey, what do you think about this song?" and he played a soothing melody in his keyboard.

"Oh boy, this is a beautiful song!" Donald exclaimed.

"Yeah, you sure have skills, Harold," Beth commented, apparently recovered from the discussion.

"It's mad skills," he replied, grinning friendly to Beth, and she winked back; she made her own interpretation of his smile. "What the hell did I do? I don't want to relive that incident again," he thought and his grinning became an awkward grimace.

In that time, Courage stopped the truck next to a caravan. A Chihuahua hooded woman was there, sitting in a desk with a transparent crystal ball.

"I was waiting for you. Poor Muriel... Soon to be banished from Nowhere, and she's not guilty of anything." Shirley lamented.

Courage was babbling his normal gibberish, dying for some information that could free Muriel. Shirley, then, looked at her crystal ball and uttered, "The Crystal Ball has all the answers, but doesn't always tell, especially because the warranty expired fifteen years ago. The answer, the culprit, the future, all lies in the darkness."

"I hate riddles!" Heather scowled.

"You must look for (she plays her sax) the Evil Package in the abandoned warehouse over there," she pointed to a nearby mysterious building, playing her sax, "nonetheless I must alert you: darkness is gathering there! (she plays again her sax, but this note is longer)"

Courage rubbed his forehead and seemed relieved, but became afraid again when he looked at the eerie building.

"So, I think it's time to move out!" said Goofy.

The group headed to the building. At the entrance, they were received by a group of Shadows and two new types of Heartless, one big Large Body and three flying Red Nocturnes.

"So, these are the Heartless? They're creepy!" Beth remarked, with Courage clutched to her.

"Let the big one with me, Yaaa-Ouch!" Harold tried to attack the large Heartless, but he hit it at the belly, which made the nunchakus bounce back, hitting Harold's head and making him faint.

"Man down!" Goofy cried and rushed to get Harold back.

Heather slashed away a Shadow next to her and cast Fire at another. "Finally some action!"

Donald also shot a fireball at Red Nocturne, but this only hyped the creature. "Wak! Why didn't it worked?" The creature launched three fireballs in row, frying the duck. "Never mind!" Learning his lesson, Donald cast Blizzard and easily defeated the creature. "I should figure out this early," and he cast Cure on himself.

Goofy finally brought Harold back, saying to Beth, "Take care of him," and returned to the battle.

"Don't worry Goofy," Beth said and raised her finger to the sky, "Now I must give Harold the kiss of life," and she prepared to give him CPR.

When she finished the phrase, Harold opened his eyes wide and quickly got up, saying, "I'm fine, returning to the battle." Beth only snapped her fingers.

They didn't have much trouble with the Shadows and Donald was terminating the Red Nocturnes with his icy attacks, but the Large Body was really a pain in the neck.

"Dang, any frontal hit will bounce back," Heather commented, after the Keyblade bounce back, almost hitting her, like was with Harold, then she heard Beth crying, "Heather, stab its back, you're good at this!"

Heather frowned, but reluctantly accepted her advice. She circled the heartless and delivered a three-hit combo at its back. The Heartless turned back and slapped Heather away, but it exposed itself to Goofy ramming shield attack. When the Large Body turned to attack Goofy, Donald and Heather cast Fire on it and Harold used the jumping nunchakus attack, which sent it to the ground. In the end, the Heartless got up and started to glow and jumping angry.

"Gawrsh! I think we provoked him." Goofy said.

Then, it began to run like a mad bull, running over everything that stood in its front. Goofy and Donald barely escaped, jumping out in the right moment, and Harold and Heather avoided its trail, Beth and Courage were too frightened to move and they were an easy target for the mad Heartless. It looked like the enemy would smash them, until Heather placed herself in their front and attacked the Large Body with the Keyblade. The hit made it daze away and Heather leapt and hit the head. The strike was so strong that almost beheaded the enemy and, even before hit the ground, it disappeared and a heart floated out to the sky. The battle was won.

Heather, then, turned to Beth and said, in a crabby tone, placing one of her hands in her hips, "Happy with my choice, now?"

"T-thanks," Beth answered, still shocked.

"You two are as useful as slugs in a salt factory. Go back to the truck!" The two nodded, "Now, you three, let's enter and end this."

As they stepped in the warehouse, some Soldiers dashed in their way, but they repelled the attack.

"This place is so dark," Harold commented, "It must be crawled with Heartless..."

"And it's spooky!" Goofy added.

"I don't care," Heather answered, "we have bigger problems, there's dozens of packages and," in a glance, she impalated a Shadow that jumped at her from a box, "they're full of Heartless."

"Well," Goofy said, "Shirley said that this place would be like this, then the Evil Package must be something different from everything." Donald raised an eyebrow upon hearing Goofy's clever comment.

They passed by some rooms, defeating any eventual Shadow and Red Nocturne that tried to approach, and reached a dark storage.

"Excuse me..." a sly voice echoed, "You said you were looking for the Evil Package, aren't you?"

"What do you think?" Heather answered, folding her arms, very impatient.

The light was turned on and revealed what looked like a large and dangerous obstacle course, with long ways of barbed wire, spiky platforms, balls of destruction, shark-infested water, and all those torture devices that Chris would love to put at his challenges.

"Are you Chris MacLean or Chef Hatchet?" Harold asked.

"No, my name is Buschwick," and a great cockroach appeared, swinging his antennas, "But you may call me Schwick." He was holding the Evil Package, a white box, tied with a red lace.

"It's the Evil Package!" Donald cried.

"Yes, it is," Schwick answered, "And it may be yours if you pass through the challenge."

"What challenge?" Heather asked.

"This is an obstacle course, constructed solely for test your survival skills, agility, strength and cleverness. The faster and creative way of completing the course wins, but, hehe, I can't guarantee your safety."

"So, that's the only way to get the Evil Package?" Heather asked again.

"Yes, and, since you seems to be the leader, you go first! Now, at your position," the giant cockroach let the package in a desk and picked a chronometer, "Go!"

"You're in a hurry, huh?" she replied, immobile.

"Go! What are you waiting for? The clock is ticking!" he said, pointing nervously to the chronometer.

"Why don't you come here?"

The cockroach shrugged and went to see what's up. Heather explained her idea, "You said I must find the most creative way to complete the course, aren't you?" the cockroach agreed, "And, know what? I realized THIS," and, without warning, Heather hit the cockroach, pushing him to the shark-infested water, "is the most creative way to win this stupid contest!"

"Aaaahh! How could you..." Schwick screamed loudly, "Get off shark, get off!"

Heather calmly walked to desk and picked the Evil Package. "Here's the bounty, now let's get out!" Harold, Donald and Goofy watched her, astonished.

"Wow, that was low, but astute," Harold commented, breaking their astonishment. They rushed to the exit, hearing Schwick screaming, "You gonna pay for this!" and ignoring Shadows and Soldiers that appeared in the rooms. They got out of the warehouse and jumped in the truck, avoiding the fireballs shot by Red Nocturnes at them.

"Wow, it's like a war movie," Harold commented, almost being hit by a fireball, "The lift came in the very moment, OUCH!" Heather slapped his head.

"You found it, the Evil Package!" Beth said.

"Now we can free Muriel!" Goofy added.

"Muriel," Courage yelled, "I save you!" The others were surprised to see Courage talking intelligible words. Courage hastily accelerated the vehicle and they escaped the horde of Heartless behind them.


	9. Stuck in the middle of Nowhere, pt 3

Courage was guiding the truck to town the faster he could, but he had to suddenly stop when he saw Shirley in the middle of the road.

"Well, look what you've found. Nice going." she said.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, now you're going to say some freaking riddle and I won't understand anything, and your speech will be useless..." Heather mumbled impatient.

"Heather! Be nicer, she helped us," Beth rebuked her.

"Ok, we can save the old lady and blah blah blah..."

"Don't be so sure! She may be innocent, but what about you?" Shirley replied.

"What do you mean?"

"You are the Keyblade wielder. Do you come to bring light or darkness?"

"Seriously, what this nonsense?"

"It's you who must find out. For the time being, I have something for you!" and she gave her a blue gem. Like the red gem, the blue gem floated in the air and turned into a blue powder, and entered in Heather's silver wig.

"Hmm, this must allow you use the Blizzard spell." Donald commented.

"Ok, now can we go to the court?" she replied, still impatient.

When they left, Shirley sighed, "I'm still afraid she'll bring us darkness..."

On arriving there, they learnt the session had restarted. The judge was about to declare Muriel guilty, when the group entered the court, yelling, "Wait! We've found the evidence!"

"Did you find? But this is the infamous Evil Package!" the judge said.

Katz was glaring and wringing his wrists and Eustace was clinging his nails with his nonexistent teeth, as Heather untied the package. A Soldier Heartless popped out, made a noise that resembled an evil laugh and disappeared.

"What in the world was that?" a surprised judge asked.

"There's your evidence, your Excellency. Muriel is innocent." Heather answered.

"No, she's not," Katz protested, "She's guilty!"

"Guilty! Guilty!" the entire jury agreed.

"I've made my decision! In face of new evidence, I must declare Muriel innocent!" and he hit the hammer. Muriel, Beth, Courage, Donald, Goofy and Harold, all of them cheered. Even Heather couldn't hide her smile. However, others weren't very happy.

"Grrr... I won't be defeated by some strange silver-haired girl and that stupid dog!" Katz growled, "At your posts!" The villains jumped out the jury stand and got their weapons: LeQuack, with a oversized bazooka, the zombies Tarantella and Volkheim with knife and fork, the Queen of the Black Puddle with a black water-sword, the Chicken from Outer Space with a ray-gun, Dr. Gerbil with a giant electric fan, the Great Fusilli with a flamethrower marionette, the Quilt Sisters with a quilt-cannon, the Cruel Vet with a oversized needle, the Cajun Fox with a great knife, and Jeeves with his bare hands. "Hey, I'm scary too," he said. To complete, Katz with a triple-bladed machine gun butcher's knife.

"Hey, what's that, a triple-bladed machine gun butcher's knife?" the judge exclaimed, "What IS the meaning of this?"

"Shut up, old coot!" Katz screamed, and everyone evacuated the building, even the judge, who was saying, "You're in BIG trouble, Katz!"

Heather got the Keyblade, Harold his nunchakus, Donald his staff and Goofy his shield. Even Courage got his slingshot and Beth tried to get an umbrella as weapon. It looked like an epic battle would start.

"The things I do for love," Courage said, trembling.

"Ha! There's no way you can defeat us, you're outnumbered! When we finish you, we'll take care of the old lady there... What?" Katz looked surprised, because Muriel had gone, and so Eustace. "Well, that's not important, we can still crush you!" But the ones who were crushed were Katz and the rest of the villains, by the arm of a giant purple starfish.

"I think you'd need some help," Shirley wryly said, entering in the court.

"Gee, thanks Shirley," Beth replied, "But where's Muriel?"

"She must've gotten kidnapped and we didn't notice," Donald remarked.

"That's obvious, Donald," Heather completed.

"Hmpf... Have you seen Muriel, Shirley?" Donald asked.

"Muriel no, Shadows yes!"

"Where did they go?" Goofy questioned.

"This way? That way? Does it matter? Left, right, up, down! All mixed up thanks to the shadows!" Shirley answered.

"I still hate riddles!" Heather scoffed.

"Wait," exclaimed Beth, "if Eustace took her back to the house? They may be there yet!"

Courage only said, "Yeah!" and went to the truck, with the others following him, but the truck wasn't there anymore.

"That means Eustace already got the truck, they may be at their house, for sure!" Goofy commented.

"But how are we going there?" Beth asked.

"Let's go to the gummi ship!" Donald exclaimed.

And they went to parking lot and, after paying the toll, they embarked in the ship. Before going, Shirley gave them one last warning, "But, be careful! They might try to catch you in the exit," but her voice was suppressed by the engine of the gummi ship.

"What did she say?" Harold asked. Nobody heard her.

They arrived at Courage's house and got out the ship. It was an old and simple house. The truck was there too, but, suddenly, the truck was smashed by a giant light-purple stick.

"What is that?" Heather shouted.

"That must be another Heartless leader!" Donald cried.

The giant tower-like Heartless known as Trickmaster was ready to battle them. It started running through the area, swinging its fire-sticks.

"It reminds you Beth," Heather said, sarcastically, "you and your fire batons."

"Hey, I improved my skills!"

Beth and Courage went to a safe distance, the gummi ship retreated, and Heather, Harold, Goofy and Donald charged at the creature. The creature leaned down to swipe them, but only Harold was hit. Heather dodged and hit the creature with some blows of the Keyblade. Goofy also could hit with the shield and Donald cast Thunder. The Trickmaster didn't give up; it started to swipe and stomp them more furiously, hitting Donald and Goofy. They had to pull back to discuss strategy.

"Attack its feet is useless," Harold remarked, "We must attack the trunk of the creature, and since it uses fire attacks, Blizzard must be more effective on it."

"Good, but we must stay at some altitude, or else we gonna waste magic," Donald added.

"Be careful, it launched a giant fireball!" Goofy cried.

"I'll try to deflect, this should be easy," Heather said, but she miscalculated the timing and was hit by the fireball. "Cough... Damn!" she jinxed.

"It's launching another fireball!" Goofy warned again.

"Better not try again," and Heather dodged the projectile.

"What's happening? GAAAAAH!" Eustace said, as he walked out the house only to become ash, after the fireball hit him, but his glasses were intact. He mumbled, as ashes, "Stupid monster!" Courage approached him, and swept him into a plastic sack.

The Trickmaster started to attack again, swinging its fire-sticks at them. This time they managed to avoid the swipes and Donald tried to cast Blizzard at it, but unsuccessfully. When it leaned down, Heather, Harold and Goofy took advantage of to attack its trunk, at the cost of exposing themselves to its swipes. Donald jumped and tried to cast another Blizzard attack, with partial success.

Heather took some hits, and feeling low on health, used a potion on herself. She looked to the roof of the house and had an idea.

"Harold, help me climbing the roof!" Heather said, "Donald, Goofy, distract the Heartless!"

"But why? Why are you asking this?" Harold asked.

"DO IT!"

And Harold helped Heather to climb the roof, while Donald and Goofy were distracting the creature. When there, Heather taunted the creature, "Hey there, skinny red monster! You should be cheerleader of the Antarctic Penguins!" In some way, this provoked the monster and it went fuming at her direction. Heather stared at it with a fierce look and pointed the Keyblade at it, "Eat ice, red scum!" Her wig went dark blue and she used all her magic power casting Blizzard, launching many icy blasts.

"Wow! It's like an ice-shotgun," Harold commented. When her magic was depleted, she jumped a delivered an air combo to the creature. The creature was damaged, lost balance and Harold switched his nunchakus for his num-yos and hurled them at its legs. The Trickmaster finally fell on the ground, defeated, with a heart floating out.

"What a relief," Beth said, "The monster is finally gone!"

"Harold, why didn't you use these num-yos earlier?" Heather asked.

"It's a high-class furtive technique," Harold tried to explain, "I can't use it in any ordinary enemy." Heather only raised her eyebrow.

"Well, it's over, and the house is almost intact," Donald observed.

"But the same can't be said about the truck," Goofy completed.

"My truck!" Eustace, or what's left from Eustace, shouted, "My truck! Why didn't you save it?"

"Oh, come on," Heather rolled her eyes.

"Where's Muriel, Eustace?" Beth asked the ashes, "Do you bring her back?"

"I don't know! I ran away after the muss started and I didn't even notice her!"

"But, why you allied with Katz, Eustace?" Goofy asked.

"He promised me a lot of money if I'd help him."

"And you believed him?" Heather jibbed at him. Eustace went mad when he realized his mistake; if he had legs and hands, he would be hunting down Katz with his hammer.

She rolled her again, and then she noticed something strange with the Keyblade, "What is this?" Then, they looked at the door of the house; its keyhole was glowing and Heather felt like the Keyblade was being attracted to the keyhole, so Heather pointed the Keyblade at its direction and the blade emitted a beam that went straight into the keyhole, following a sound.

"What was that?" Donald asked, astounded.

"You hear that? Sounded like something closed." Heather replied, also barely without words.

"CONGRATULATIONS!" a low-pitched voice said, then a flying saucer-like gummi ship showed up in Nowhere's skies. The ship landed over the remains of Eustace's truck, and, when it opened the door, fog came out, revealing, no one else than Chris MacLean, "You've passed through Trickmaster and cleared the second level! As reward, you take this: the Ifrit's horn," and he threw her the accessory, "this will increase your defense and fire-resistance."

"It's over yet?" Heather asked sarcastically, as she got the accessory.

"Nooo, you also receive this: a Navi-G piece!" and he threw the gummi to Donald.

"This gummi ain't like the others. No, sir." Goofy commented.

"Okay, I'll hold on to it." Donald replied.

"Stay tuned for more TOTAL... DRAMA... WORLDS!" and Chris returned to the ship and left the place.

"So, we are Chris' puppets again?" Heather remarked, staring at the accessory.

"I think we shouldn't be surprise," added Harold.

"Splendid," Shirley said, appearing out of nowhere (without a capital "N"), "Perhaps you're the one who will bring light to the worlds."

"Shirley!" Beth said, surprised.

Courage started to make his typical gibberish, but everyone knew he was asking for Muriel.

"If you're looking for Muriel, she's not here. She's gone! Off with the shadows, into darkness," she replied, without expression, "I'm sorry..."

Courage wept upon hearing this. Beth took Courage in her arms and tried to cheer him up, "Courage, Muriel is somewhere in the skies. We know we can find her, right guys?"

"You bet!" Donald said.

"A-hyuck, you can count on us!" Goofy added.

"We'll find her, for sure!" Harold completed.

"Whatever..." Heather groaned, staring at her nails.

"She doesn't count," Beth said, and then she whispered, encouraging Courage, "remember how she protected us? In the end she maybe has a good heart... maybe..."

"Stupid teenagers! Stupid anthropomorphic animals!" Eustace cried.

"I guess he can't do anything now," Shirley smirked, "take that, stupid farmer," and Shirley laughed out loudly, whereas Eustace only growled.

The royal gummi ship landed and opened its door.

"That's our ride," Harold said.

"Umm, Beth, you know..." Goofy tried to explain something to Beth, but she interrupted him, saying calmly, "Yes, I know Goofy, I'm not from this world, I heard the talk about meddling," then she hugged Courage tightly and said, "Courage, I'll never forget you, you always have a special place in my heart." Courage wept more yet and hugged her, but this time he was smiling along with Beth.

They embarked in the gummi ship, waving to them, saying, "Bye Courage, bye Shirley!" Courage happily waved back, while Shirley waved more seriously.

However, before the door close, Ma Baggs appeared, shouting angrily, "Heather, you spoiled brat! You must return the wig!"

"You know, it works perfectly, I think I'll keep for myself," and she slammed the door of the gummi ship. She reopened the door and said slyly, "And you need a better wig!" and slammed it again. Ma Baggs snarled and tried to throw a little rock at the gummi ship, but the ship was taking off, upping a cloud of dust. When the dust dissipated, her wig was taken away, flying to other direction.

"My wig!" and she ran after her wig. Courage, Shirley and even Eustace laughed at her.


	10. A Hero is NOT Born

**A.N.:** This chapter is longer, because, it takes one world. This world was maintained from the original game. As I said before, some worlds will be maintained and others won't, I'd like to know if it's okay. Note to all Tyler fans: he'll suffer some damage but will return in the next chapters.

* * *

_Last time on TOTAL... DRAMA... WORLDS! Heather, Harold, Donald and Goofy arrived at Nowhere, literally _(shows the group exiting the gummi ship)_ and were received by this handsome host _(shows Chris giving away the Brave Warrior)_ and they found a mystery: Muriel is being falsely accused of stealing Eustace's heart _(shows the court)_ Heather agrees to proof her Muriel's innocence with some incentive _(shows Heather in the stand and everyone glaring at her)_. After getting a new wig, with magic included _(shows her at Growth Industries)_, she receives the help of a stranger _(shows Shirley with her crystal ball)_ and retrieves the proof of innocence _(shows Heather knocking Schwick to the sharks)_ and clear the old lady name _(shows the judge deciding at her favor)_. With a quasi-fight _(shows the giant starfish crushing the villains), _Heather's group manage to defeat the Trickmaster _(shows Heather delivering an aerial combo and Harold hurling his num-yos)_ and seal the world _(shows the Keyblade emitting a beam)_. With everything almost back to the normal at Nowhere, they face a new challenge today at the Coliseum. Now it's time for more Heartless onslaught at TOTAL... DRAMA... WORLDS! _

The royal gummi ship was flying through the space, with her new passenger, Beth, inside.

"Wowee! I never thought the space was so beautiful!" she cheerfully exclaimed, "Brady would love to see this."

"Who's Brady?" Goofy asked.

"It's my boyfriend, look," and she showed a photo of him.

"Hmm, right..." Goofy replied, barely believing.

"I wonder where he is now..."

"Probably perished..." Heather coldly replied.

"Heather!"

"He wasn't at the epicenter of the attack, only us, remember?" Heather explained, in a rude tone, "He's gone, to the darkness."

"But we still can restore him, Scott said..." Harold added, trying to avoid making Beth cry.

"That's what he said," Heather interrupted, "But if he's wrong?"

"Then, he's wrong about your mother!" Harold replied, annoyed with Heather's attitude.

Instead of replying with an insult or abjection, Heather only looked down, sadly. Harold, realizing he offended her, apologized, "Sorry Heather, I didn't know you liked so much your mother..."

After a few seconds, Heather sighed and answered, "Mom was the only person I could trust, before..." but, she couldn't finish the phrase. The ship suffered a hard jolt and the battle alarm sounded.

"What's happening?" Beth asked, worried.

Donald, from the cockpit, replied, "We were hit by an enemy! Four Heartless patrol ships!"

The enemy ships were flying in the gummi ship direction, preparing to blast the royal gummi ship from the space. "Goofy," Donald cried, "Go to the turret!" Goofy did as said, and took the controls of the turret. He shot lasers at the ships, destroying two and damaging one. The remaining ships retreated to the darkness.

"That was close," Donald exclaimed, relieved, "I was starting to become worried with the calm..."

"Oww, this will happen more times?" Harold asked, massaging a bruise in his head.

"The Heartless usually patrol the space between the worlds," Goofy said, "I'm afraid to say this will be common."

"Damage report!" Donald talked to Chip and Dale.

"No serious damage was taken," Chip said.

"However, the engines are working at 60% of their power," Dale added, "Let's land on that world for quick repairs."

"Roger!" Donald agreed and pointed to navigation panel, "The map says it's Olympus Coliseum, a world known by the tournaments held there."

"A-hyck, for years many powerful competitors battled there, I think there must be a tournament right now."

"Tournament means prizes, huh?" Heather remarked, tapping her chin, "Fine, let's take a look there while the rodents fix the ship."

**Olympus Coliseum**

Arriving there, the group, with Beth, passed through the entrance, and walked to the lobby. A satyr named Philoctetes, Phil for short, was busy, fixing a panel, containing the rules of the tournaments on the wall and didn't pay attention when Heather and the others entered in the lobby. Without turning his head, he said, "Good timing. Give me a hand, will ya? Move that pedestal over there for me. I gotta spruce this place up for the games."

Heather shrugged and tried to pull the rock pedestal. She tried, but she didn't succeed, "It weighs a ton! It's like four Owens together..." then, she talked to the satyr, "What's the big idea? That thing is way too heavy!"

"What? Too heavy? Since when have you been such a little..." then, he turned and looked at Heather's group and rectified, "Oh... Wrong person. What're you doing here? This here's the world-famous Coliseum - heroes only!" and he started walking at Donald's direction, like he was saying 'get off my way', and ordered, "So run along, pip-squeaks. Look, it's like this. Heroes are coming from all over to fight ferocious monsters right here in the Coliseum."

Indignant, Donald replied, "You got heroes standing right in front of you."

"Yup," added Goofy, tapping Heather's shoulders, "You got heroes standing right in front of you."

"Don't touch me!" Heather frowned, placing her hands in her hips. Goofy only covered his mouth, saying 'gawrsh' in a low voice.

"And we're heroes, too." Donald completed.

"Technically, we fight the bad guys, so we are heroes," Harold reasoned.

"Yeah, just ask me," Beth supported.

"Hero? That runt?" and Phil started to burst out in laughs.

"What's so funny? I've fought a bunch of monsters!" Heather put off, "Monsters bigger than you."

"Hey," Phil walked to the pedestal and started to pull, "if you can't even move this," he wasn't having an easy time on this, "you can't call yourself... a hero!"

Heather rolled her eyes, and Phil conceded, "Okay, so it takes more than brawn. Well, well, let's see what you can do."

Then Phil guided them to an aisle that directed to the arena. Phil pulled a lever and various platforms, with barrels on them appeared.

"Smash all the barrels in the due time," Phil explained, "Are ya ready?"

"Of course..."

"Barrels remind me something, Heather: do a barrel roll!" Harold commented.

Heather grabbed Harold by the sleeve and menaced, "If you quote more random crap from the internet, I'll have to use you as the new Keyblade!"

"Go!" Phil ordered.

Heather managed to destroy all barrels quickly and before the time was over.

"After pointless barrel destruction, I think I'm ready for the real stuff," she said.

"You know, you ain't bad, skinny girl, but I'm afraid you can't go to the games yet."

"Why not?" Heather asked, unpleased.

"Two words: You guys ain't heroes."

"But the phrase has four words, and one is a contraction," Harold questioned.

"Grrr... You made me waste my time destroying barrels for nothing?" Heather angrily said, showing the Keyblade in her hand.

"Calm down," Phil said, handing her a yellow gem, like a consolation prize, "Wanna become a real hero? Start by mastering this spell." The gem was then 'processed' into her wig, like the red and the blue-one, and allowed Heather to use Thunder.

Heather left the place, fuming, "That stupid goat man! Who he thinks he is?"

"Actually, he is a satyr, half-man, half-goat, and..." Before Harold could finish, Heather slapped his head.

"Rather a stubborn old goat, wouldn't you say?" a figure said, under the shadow of a gladiator statue.

"Who are you?" Donald asked. The figure then went to the light, he was the Lord of the Underworld, Hades, and said, "Whoa, hold on there, fuzz boy. Wait, let me guess. You want to enter the games, right?" he placed his hand on Heather's should. The silver-wigged girl looked at him, skeptically unimpressed. "Well, then, hey, get a load of this," and he make a card appear at his hands out of nowhere.

"An Entry Pass," Heather stared at the card, "Hmm..."

"It's all yours. Good luck, kid. I'm pulling for you, little shorty," and Hades walked away, and thought, "The plan is working sweetly!"

Heather walked back into the lobby and showed the card to Phil, almost rubbing at his face, "I have a pass, nahnahnahnah!"

"Hey, how'd you get this?" Phil asked surprised, "Okay, this qualifies you for the preliminaries. It will start in 10 minutes, so get ready! Some weirdoes flooded the inscriptions this year."

---

Meanwhile, Hades was talking to Maleficent by a screen, "Maleficent, I have good news! I'll make Heather work for us."

"What?" she angrily replied.

"I liked her style, she's a bad girl, and with my assassin they can..."

"You idiot! The Keyblade will only effectively destroy Heartless! If she uses it against common people, it won't kill them, even with thousands of blows! You must destroy her by any means!"

"What? Nine thousand?"

Maleficent facepalmed and ended the transmission.

"Okay, maybe that idea of making Heather work for us wasn't a good idea... Anyway, better go talk with my assassin."

---

The preliminaries were about to start, and Beth went to the stands. When she went there, she saw Justin, with three ladies cockering him.

"Justin, how are you? It's been a long time," Beth waved to him and sat down next to them.

"Beth, what are you doing here? And how did you get here?" he replied, surprised.

"I'm here with Heather and Harold and two new friends," she explained, "they will compete at the games. We'll talk to them later."

"Okay, let me introduce these distinguished muses, Calliope, Thalia and Terpsichore." The three said 'hi' at the same time.

"Justin is the most beautiful mortal I've ever seen, since Adonis," Thalia explained.

"Oh, he's so handsome..." Terpsichore added.

"Well, excuse me ladies, but now I have to alleviate myself," and Justin got up and went to the bathroom.

"You must know Justin," said Calliope, "Please tell us more about him."

"Umm, okay..." Beth happily answered and started to tell them all the stories from TDI and TDA. All of them.

---

The preliminaries had started. Heather, Harold, Goofy and Donald stepped in the arena. The first challenge was four soldiers and three of a new kind, Blue Rhapsodies.

"That one over there is new," Goofy commented.

"Let's see which attack it uses before going," Donald said.

When the battle started, the Soldiers headbutted Goofy and Harold, but Goofy repelled them with the shield and Harold dodge using what looked like a dance technique. Heather proceeded to attack a Soldier and Donald cast Thunder. The Blue Rhapsodies cast Blizzard at them.

"They're icy!" Harold remarked, "Kill it with fire!"

Heather's wig went red and she cast Fire at... Harold? "You've been warned!"

"Cough... Gosh!"

Donald, acting more professionally, cast Fire at the blue enemies and got the advantage. Goofy was attacking with his shield the Soldiers, protecting from the hits and ramming at the enemies. Heather started dodging one that went into her direction, then attacking it with two straight hits and defeating the Soldier; she also tested her new magic technique, and, when she said "Thunder", her wig went blond-yellow and a thunder came out the skies to hit the Soldiers and the Blue Rhapsodies. Harold attacked with his nunchakus, using his favorite strategy against Soldiers: waiting for the headbutt, blocking the attack with one swing, and hitting with other, until defeat it. Soon, the enemies were defeated. The round was won.

Phil was happy with their performance. "You're no heroes yet, but you ain't doing bad. Lucky you came to me for coaching."

"Like I need some coaching," Heather scoffed.

Before Phil could reply, a man, with a dark-blue and orange uniform, and a bladed mask, passed by them, staring Heather and her, frie-, I mean, allies.

"Something tells me he'll be a tough one to beat. Who knows, maybe you'll end up facing him." Phil remarked.

"Can I see his record?" Harold asked.

"No problem, in the next round I'll bring ya."

The next round was about to start. This time, ten Shadows and three Blue Rhapsodies were their opponents. They got their weapons and attacked; they managed to avoid Shadows' group attack and quickly used Fire on the blues. That battle was easier than the last.

At the intermission room, Phil showed the record of the mysterious competitor.

"There's only one thing," Harold said, "His name is Wolverine. Nothing about his birthplace, relatives..."

"Gawrsh! How strong he can be?" Goofy asked.

The next round brought ten flying Heartless, five Red Nocturnes and five Blue Rhapsodies. These were more organized. They pulled out to the end of the arena and launched a barrage of fire and ice projectiles. Heather and Donald tried to counterattack with Fire and Blizzard, but the enemies were clever than the earlier opponents and, when Fire was about to hit a blue, a red entered in its front, annulling the attack (this happened many times). Heather's team was taking many hits.

"Gosh! What we're going to do?" Harold asked, avoiding a fireball.

"Let's break their formation, with a direct attack," Heather ordered.

"What? But we'd take too much hits!" Donald protested, dodging an ice shard.

"Donald, we can use Thunder," the silver-wigged girl explained, "Harold and Goofy must go by the flanks and we can get them."

Heather and Donald took position and cast Thunder. The enemy formation was broken apart and Harold and Goofy were attacking the enemies in disarray. Heather joined the assault with direct attacks from her Keyblade, while Donald provided back up with Thunder, avoiding regrouping of the enemy. Soon, they'd defeated the last Heartless and were victorious.

In the intermission, Phil greeted them, "Say, you're better than I thought, kid! Wish he was here to see this."

"Who?" Heather asked.

"Hercules. He's a hero if ever there was one. Too bad he's off visiting his father."

In the next round, more Shadows, Soldiers and flying Heartless. Once again, the group easily disposed of the enemies, since they had learnt their strategies, and the battle was quick.

Again, in the intermission, Phil was amazed. Who would guess that a skinny and mean girl, a scrawny nerd boy, a worried temperamental duck and dumb yet kind dog would be so great fighters? Others, however, weren't amazed.

"That little punkette is your next opponent, okay? Now, don't blow it. Just take her out." Hades ordered the mysterious fighter, only known as Wolverine.

"The great god of the Underworld is afraid of a girl? Sorry, but my contract says..."

"I know! You think I don't know? I wrote the contract! I know it says you're only required to kill Hercules in this tournament. But you've gotta fight that kid to get to him. Come on. Hey, it's like that old goat says: Rule 11 - It's all just a game, so let loose and have fun5s with it! I mean, a casualty or two along the way is no big deal, right?"

Then, he left him, saying, "You have big mouth..."

Hades, after Wolverine left, commented to himself, "Geez. Stiffer than the stiffs back home. Still, suckers like him are hard to come by..."

In the next round, Heather's team was expecting another swarm of Heartless, but, instead of, they met a known one.

"Tyler, what are you doing here?" Heather asked.

"Whaddya think? I'm here to win," the red jock replied, stretching his muscles.

"Feeling confident, huh? How did you pass by the goat man?"

"That a sa..." Harold was unable to finish the phrase due to Heather's glare.

"I asked for Justin to put me inside, he has some contacts," he said, then smirked, "but this doesn't care, only the fact that you're going down!"

"Oh please, I can defeat you with one single blow."

"Don't provoke me!"

"Really, so what's with that giant chicken behind you?"

"Where?" Tyler turned behind, with his face white, but this was an error. Heather advanced and hit his head with the Keyblade. Tyler fell on the ground, seeing stars.

"One single blow, as said," Heather swung the Keyblade in the air, celebrating her victory.

"Heather! That was a low blow!" Donald tried to reprehend her as Harold and Goofy were removing the unconscious jock from the arena. Heather only whistled, and went to grab a cup of water. When she was drinking, Phil showed up, angry, "Heather, you can't do this, that's cheating, and heroes don't cheat, don't play dirty!"

She calmly swallowed the water and said, "Oh really?" and she left the cup on the table and walked to the next challenge. Phil became vexed; he was starting to think he committed a mistake when he denied entry in the first time, but now he realized he did the right thing. And he didn't like of.

The next opponent was Wolverine. Heather tried to taunt him, "Here's my newest victim, and at least is not a Heartless or some loser like Tyler. So, what's the big deal with ya?"

The man didn't answer, only showed his weapons: two pairs of claws, with three blades each, showing from his hands.

"Gawrsh! I don't think he's like the others we've face!" Goofy asserted.

"H-he knows how to intimidate someone," Harold said, swinging nervously his nunchakus. Heather tried to ignored his last comment and put herself in an offensive stance.

When the battle begun, Wolverine lunged at their direction, screaming and attacking furiously with his adamantium claws. Donald almost lost all his health, but he managed to cast Cure on himself. Goofy tried to hide behind his shield, while Wolverine was attacking relentlessly. Donald tried to cast Fire at him, but he simply chopped down the fireball. Harold tried to approach behind, but the man only gave him a powerful kick, sending the geek to the other side of the arena. Heather launched an icy projectile, but he was only scratched. The tiny scratch was healed in seconds. Heather prepared to attack directly, charging at his direction. Heather tried to hit, but he was faster and avoided her hits. Wolverine circled her and almost hit her back, but was stopped by Goofy ramming attack. Wolverine counterattacked and knocked Goofy away, and he accidentally hit Donald too. With Harold, Goofy and Donald knocked down, the battle transformed into a close combat between Heather and Wolverine. When Wolverine attacked with a straight hit, Heather blocked with the Keyblade. Then, the mysterious powerful man said his first words to the girl: "You let your guard down."

"What?" and Wolverine slashed her leg with his other hand, making Heather fall on the ground, bleeding, grabbing her leg. Her pain scream was heard all over the Coliseum. Everyone, her team and the crowd, stared at him, horrified with his coldness, with exception of Hades, who was at his VIP seat, grinning happily. Wolverine lifted his claws to deliver the last blow. She closed her eyes, gritted her teeth and waited. Wolverine was immobile. Then, he lowered his arms and walked away, saying, "Better luck next time, skinny girl," and spared her life. Heather stared at the man, and she couldn't understand anything. Harold, Donald and Goofy went there, bringing potions. After she took the potions, she got up and shouted to the man, "Hey, why didn't you kill me when you had the chance?"

The man stopped, glanced, and said, "I don't kill girls, specially the weak ones."

In his seat, Hades was trying to counter his anger, "He chickened, how stupid... however, there was one other rule I forgot: Accidents happen, right Avalanche?" he pressed a button and left the Coliseum. Out of the arena, a young man, wearing a red and gray armor suit received the call.

"Time to rock! Uuugh..." he said and stretched his hand, causing an earthquake there.

Inside the arena, everyone felt the tremor, asking what could be the meaning of that. The tremor had unlocked Cerberus, the heinous giant black dog with three heads. Wolverine tried to fight him, but was swatted by his massive paw, and fell on the ground unconscious.

"Now, who's let the guard down..." Heather said, still angry.

Wolverine wasn't Cerberus' last victim. Tyler showed up in the arena, recklessly running at the creature, but he sent the jock flying away over the Coliseum with his toe. The giant three-headed dog went to Heather's direction, but was stopped by a young man that lifted and threw the monster away.

"Herc!" Phil said, surprised.

"Phil," he told, "get them out of here!"

The crowd evacuated and Phil, Heather, Harold, Donald and Goofy went to the lobby.

"Whew, that was close!" Phil said, relieved, "That was Cerberus, the guardian of the Underworld... Herc should be able to handle him. But then again, maybe not... This doesn't look good."

"We can help," Harold said.

"Hey, you're not entering the arena, are ya? This ain't just some match. This is for real!"

"The goat-man's right, Harold, did you see the size of that thing?" Heather added.

"But Hercules is there, and we must save Wolverine. He spared your life, remember?"

Heather thought for a moment and replied, "Fine, I think I owe him..." and they entered again in the arena. Cerberus cornered Hercules, and he was taking Wolverine over his shoulder, when Heather's group appeared, and she cried, "Hey, you monster, what about roasted duck?"

"What?" Donald angrily said, with his face red.

"Why so angry? I can't say roasted dog... Maybe at Korea..."

The creature allowed Hercules escape and walked to the group's direction.

"Girl, I got two words of advice for you: Attack!" Phil shouted.

"That's one word," Harold corrected him, and Phil didn't get pleased.

The creature uplifted by his hind legs and stomped at the floor, creating a shock wave. The group almost instinctively jumped to avoid the shock wave. Donald cast Fire at the creature, which took the hit. The creature then launched his own fireball, almost three-times greater than Donald's fireball. The creature started to move, launching many fireballs, but only three connected, hitting Harold and Goofy. The creature stopped and started to bite furiously, chomping anyone who stood at his front. Goofy hurled his shield at the monster and hit one of his eyes. Cerberus got startled and the group took advantage to attack with everything they've got. When the creature recovered his senses, he started to vomit dark matter at the floor.

"Aw, shucks!" Heather said.

"What's that under your feet?" Harold asked, pointing to a purple energy that was amassing under her feet.

"I don't know," she replied, "but I don't want to stay here to discover," and she rolled over, to avoid the burst of black-purple energy that bursted at that point. Heather ran away and the energy bursts were following her, she couldn't stop running. While Heather was running, the others attacked the heads of the creature. Cerberus retaliate with chomps. When the energy trail was over, Heather rushed to the creature and attacked with aerial combos and tried to use Blizzard. Harold attacked one head, avoided the bite, but the head tackled him, and he went flying away. Goofy used his tornado technique and dealt some damaged to the other head, while Donald cast Thunder and hit the three heads at the same time. Cerberus uplifted again and stomped, creating a shock wave. They jumped and avoided the attack. The creature was ready to vomit again, but Heather attacked with another aerial combo, that distracted the creature, leaning down his heads. When lowered, Heather delivered the strongest hits she could, mainly at the jaw of the enemy, with her allies helping. The creature howled and fell on the ground, defeated.

"Finally it's over," Goofy sighed, glad the battle had finished. Everyone was wounded and went rest. Later, at the lobby, Phil was showing his appreciation.

"Thus, I do hereby dub Harold, Donald and Goofy junior heroes, and confer upon thee full rights and privileges to participate in the games. Further..."

"Hey!" Donald interrupted, "What do you mean with 'junior heroes'?"

"You rookies still don't understand what it takes to be a true hero."

"So, what does it take?" Goofy asked.

"Well, that's just something you'll have to find out for yourselves," Hercules explained, "Just the way that I did."

"Wait," Heather exclaimed, "What about me?"

"You aren't even a junior hero yet, Heather," Phil argued, "unless you show up your sportsmanship."

"But I defeated the monster!"

"True, but you don't need to be a hero to defeat a monster. A hero doesn't cheat, and you cheated at your battle against Tyler. That's the rules, and I can't open an exception for you."

She growled and walked off the lobby, with his allies following. As they left, Phil commented, "I still can't believe that squirt actually beat Cerberus."

"Just between us," Hercules added, "I'd already worn Cerberus down by the time the skinny girl jumped in."

"My lips are sealed. But still, that girl is going to have a hard time with that attitude."

"But she's chosen by the Keyblade. Maybe the Keyblade will teach her how to be a hero."

"I hope so, Herc..."

Outside, Heather was still complaining, "I can't believe that goat-man," she stopped to glare at Harold, "didn't gimme the license! And after all I did, he says I can't be a hero!"

"But Heather, why are you so angry?" Harold reasoned, "you really want to be a hero, do you?"

Heather stopped and just said, "I only want to end this mad trip soon! I must do what must be done!"

"Why you are so sure that ends justify means?" a voice said. When they turned, they saw Wolverine, with casual clothes now.

"Ah, it's you." Heather said.

"Look," he continued, "I went to Hades, because I think he could help me. He showed me the darkness, and I tried to exploit the power of darkness, but it backfired. I fell into darkness, and couldn't find the light."

"Hmm..."

"Don't lose sight of the light, because sometimes it's only thing is left."

"Whatever... And you owe me a rematch! Next time I won't be soft!"

"I think I'll pass..." and, before he left the group, he gave them an instruction paper. It was written _How to use the Sonic Blade_. Heather kept the paper to read later.

"Heather," Harold said, "please, think in what he said, this journey won't end soon."

Heather only sighed and crossed her arms. In that moment, Justin and Beth showed up. Justin looked very upset and Beth was trying to apologize.

"Sorry, Justin. I didn't know that they would react like this."

"You told them everything about me, everything I did at the show, especially my faults!"

"Those were your funniest moments, I just thought that'd be nice."

"They weren't funny for me!" and the muses passed by, laughing loudly at the model. "That's it," Justin continued, "Let's get out, the sooner the better..."

"Wait, aren't we forgetting Tyler?" Harold remarked.

"He's nowhere," Heather answered, "We don't have time. We'll get him when we come back."

"Come back?"

"Yes, I'll show the goat-man how strong I am, next time!"

"And you will return!" a voice said.

"Another…" Heather scoffed.

The man was now Chef Hatchet. He was smiling 'friendly' to them, and said, looking at a card, "I'm here, on the behalf of Total Drama Worlds to give you the prizes of the challenge," and he threw Heather an accessory, Inferno Band, "This will increase your defense and fire-resistance, and this, now GET OUT, BEFORE I MAKE YOU DO 30 FLEXIONS!" he finished, with his typical 'sympathy' for the campers. And so, the group went to the repaired gummi ship.

When everyone left, Hades appeared, "He's strong, he's kind. He's always there for you, and he's handsome to boot. He's perfect. Perfect." He said this looking to an image of Hercules at his hands, then he got angry, burning his hair Perfectly infuriating! He makes me crazy," and he tried to calm down, talking to himself, "Wait a minute. What are you talking about? All the pieces are in place. Relax. Here's what you do. Let Hercules train the kid. In the next games, I'll take care of them both." Then he noted Maleficent there, with a sarcastic look, "Who invited you to the party? Stay out of this. This is my show."

"As you wish," Maleficent replied, "Fight to your heart's content. But I'm here for other business." And he left, upset.

Then, Chris MacLean appeared, and Maleficent asked him, "Why are you helping the spoiled brat?"

"I'm not helping," Chris explained, "That just follows the logic of reality shows. A reality show without prizes is not a reality show. And those items are no big deal, she barely knows how to use. That's why I didn't add our friend humor…"

"Hmpf! If I weren't too busy training my apprentice I'd take on you personally."

"Remember: it's just a show!"

"Ha! We'll see..." and she also left the place.

"Chris, the ship is ready," Chef Hatchet intervened.

"Okay, let's go," then he whispered, "Better we take care, our plan can't be busted, or else..."


	11. Down¡, pt 1

**A.N.:** Here's the conclusion of the world. I tried to do the same thing the creators of the original did, including Sora and the group and making them changing the plot, with the same result, even utilizing various lines. Please, review, because I need the feedback. In the end I'll spoil my own story. As said, I'll replace some worlds, while others I'll maintain, due to plot issues, how to include TDI characters at the worlds. To end, I'll not include all of them in this story, I intend to cover all games, which is not an easy task (I noticed that, until the present time, nobody managed to clear all three games, the odds are against me but and yet I'm trying, hehe).

**Update**: Rewriting, I realized that some parts may qualify as plagiarism, so the chapter is under rewriting process.

* * *

They walked through the jungle all the day. Kevin lay on the porch, in bad shape, while everyone was pulling the house by the hose turned rope, relaying when necessary. Dug's nose was handy in that time, because he could smell the Heartless, and so they stayed aware, avoiding ambushes. Heather, Harold, Donald and Goofy eliminated all Heartless that tried to approach the house. The march was slowed by the enemies, but the change of turns to pull the house discounted some loss time. They were facing one more group of foes.

"For the last time," Donald said to Harold, after barely escape from the dash attack of a Powerwild, and casting Blizzard at a Blue Rhapsody, "Never hit a Large Body in the front. Next time don't be so dumb!"

"Ouch!" moaned Harold, on the ground, rubbing his head, "Go-osh! And you, don't cast Blizzard at the blue-ones! Idiot!"

"Brrrrllll," Donald chattered his teeth, after receiving the icy attack.

"Umm... guys," Goofy said, trying to calm down everyone and protecting himself from swipes of a Powerwild, "can't we just get along?" but Harold and Donald were too busy to listen him.

"Look, that monkey is entering at the house," Carl shouted, while holding the hose along with Russell, in safe distance from the battle, "Get it, Heather! You're next to it!"

"Please," she replied as she attacked the Large Body by the back, "I have my own problems!" and Kevin grabbed the Heartless by the beak and threw it away. Goofy used his shield to defeat it.

"Point!" Dug said, as he pointed to a direction with his nose, "More creatures incoming."

"Great!" Heather said, as she used Blizzard to finish the Large Body, "Just what we need..."

Five more Powerwild appeared from the bushes and started rushing at them. Heather used Sonic Blade, but she tripped a rock and fell rolling like a bundle of meat, knocking away the Heartless.

"Good strike, Heather!" Carl commented, snickering a little. Heather whacked at a tree, messing her wig up. Harold, Donald and Goofy managed to finish the remaining Heartless.

"Grr..." she mumbled as she fixed her wig, "Now what?"

"We did it!" Harold cheered, "We save the house again, despite Donald..."

"Wak! You think you're so smart..."

"Stop it," Carl ordered, "We must focus on bringing the house to the rocky labyrinth, for Kevin."

"Don't worry Kevin," Russell said, petting the bird, "We'll bring you to your chicks very soon, they are protecting us."

"Mr. Fredericksen, I'd like to make a question," Donald said.

"Sure," he answered, smiling, "But call me Carl."

"Do you know what is this?" Donald asked, showing the gummi block that Kevin puked on him (but now was clean).

"Hmm... They're called aerolastic bricks, used to make planes and other things. I used them on my house, to make her travel."

"Oh, I see..." Donald became a little downcast, because that means that perhaps the gummi block wasn't of the King, but from Carl. But now he had to continue with his duty with Carl.

They reached the rocky labyrinth at the night. Dug confirmed that they weren't being followed. Not only Kevin would be reunited with her chicks, but the keyhole of the world was in the higher rock of the arc that marked the entrance of the labyrinth, and Carl had spare time to bring his house to Paradise Falls. Everything was in perfect harmony.

"There it is!" Russell cried.

"Finally, Kevin can return to her home," said Goofy.

Carl held him by his rope, and untied him, "Hold on, Russell! Stand still."

"Look, the keyhole at that rock," Heather said, "Of the same type we saw at Nowhere."

"I believe you must use the Keyblade there," Harold replied, "And then, we can find LeShawna."

"It's like to kill two birds with one stone," Donald added, then talked under his breath, "No way we're going to continue the searches..."

"Look at that bird!" Carl said, running behind Kevin, "Wait up, your overgrown chicken!"

"That's it! Go Kevin! Go find your babies!" Russell cheered.

But the happy moments were about to end soon. Muntz's dirigible followed them, following Dug's collar, only waiting them to be at an open space, and he captured Kevin throwing a net at her. The group tried to set Kevin free, but Muntz stepped down and went toward Carl's house, setting fire on her. Carl preferred to save his house instead of saving Kevin. Heather didn't help too.

"Heather," Russell cried, "Where are you going?"

She walked to the keyhole and glanced to Russell, "That keyhole means that my job here is done."

"But Kevin?"

"I have my priorities, and, if Kevin got caught, she won't die, the old coot needs her alive. Wish happy zoo life for her."

Her attitude made Harold, Donald and Goofy confused and they didn't know if they assist Carl, Kevin or Heather. The pack brought the bird onto the ship and Muntz left the place.

Heather pointed the Keyblade to the keyhole, but nothing happened. "Huh? Odd..." she tried again, tapping the Keyblade, "It doesn't work... Come on, unleash your magic!"

"Heather!" Harold cried, "What's the big idea? Your bad leadership skills let Kevin be caught and almost burned the house!"

"My business is to use the Keyblade," Heather replied, "It's the Keyblade. That means it's a key, and that means I have to use the key in the keyholes, isn't it? PRIORITIES... But it didn't work."

"But Heather..." and she ignored him.

Almost nobody cared with Russell. The poor boy was disheartened, "You gave away Kevin... You just... gave her away..."

Carl was extinguishing the last flame. His house almost became ashes and now he was with his hands holding the house, gasping. Without looking back, Carl replied, "This is none of my concern", then he turned, nervous, "I didn't ask for ANYTHING!"

Dug tried to comfort him, "Master, it's all right."

"I am not your master!" he replied, still nervous, "If you hadn't show up, none of these would have happened. Bad dog! Bad dog!" and Dug walked away, glum.

"Umm..." Goofy tried to say something, but was harshly interrupted by Carl.

"And you, freak ones! Go away, whatever are you doing! I don't want your help anymore!"

"So that's how you thank me?" Heather complained.

"Heather," Donald said, "Forget." and she shrugged.

"Whether you assist me or not," Carl continued, "I am going to Paradise Falls, even if it kills me!" and he, alone, pulled away the house to Paradise Falls. Without anywhere to go, everyone followed him. Harold said they needed to watch him, if he'd suffer injuries.

They reached the bingo point at the morning. Carl landed the house and looked at the view, it was a nice view. His promise was complete now, but he wasn't totally happy. Russell was upset with everyone, particularly with Carl and Heather, who abandoned Kevin.

"Here," and he put his scout sash away, "I don't need this anymore," then he looked to Heather, "You are a selfish witch!" and kicked her shin.

"Ouch!" she moaned. She didn't kick him back, because he was just a kid and she had other reason: she started to feel a weight on her conscience, "Great, another of these things?" she thought, "Go away, like the others!" she tried to ignore the feeling, like she always did, but this time the feeling was stronger; she started to feel an immense itchy feeling on her nape, "Fine! I'll help them! Just stop!" and the itchy pressure stopped, "What was that? Like it wasn't me…" was her final thought. Russell sat on a rock, and Harold tried to comfort him, but he refused to be consolated. Goofy and Donald also sat down on the rocky floor, also waiting for nothing.

"What we do now, Donald?" Goofy asked.

"Ow... I don't know, Goofy... There's no reason to stay here anymore," he answered, looking down, "But I feel we have to do something..."

Carl entered at his house. After the trip, it was a mess inside. The first thing he cleared up was the living room, his and Ellie's chairs. Always been silent without her. He sat down and grabbed her special scrapbook, "My Adventure Book". Before he started to look through, Heather came to the door and asked, without her normal hostile tone, "So, you've completed your mission... What comes next?"

Before he could reply, Harold showed up and poked her away, "If you want to help, stay quiet." She frowned and followed him out.

Without bothering, he opened the book, to pay homage to his beloved partner. He replaced a figure that was in his pocket and started to look at the pages, ending in one saying, "Stuff I'm going to do," and then he prepared to close the book. But he saw something that kept him looking at the book, since he never passed from that page. Ellie had filled the blank pages with photos of their married life. Carl looked at every single one, as memories flowed through his mind. In the last page, she wrote a note, "Thanks for the adventure – Go for a new one! Love, Ellie."

He remembered from the very promise he made when he was a young boy like Russell and this made him remember of the promise he made with Russell. He quickly got out the house, only to find Russell snatching some balloons and was on his way to save Kevin, alone. He tried to follow him, moving the house, but it wasn't working. Then he had an idea.

"Heather, Harold, Donald, Goofy!" he cried to them, who were staring at the flying boy, "Help me out!"

"A-hyuck!" Goofy answered, "What we gonna do?"

He threw away a chair and said, "Let's get rid of the weight!"

"But these are your memories," Harold reasoned, "You made so much effort to build them and now are you going to let them away?"

"I know I won't forget anything because every single piece of this house is in my heart!" and the group helped Carl to get rid of everything. They threw everything away, and the house took off. Only his and Ellie's seat where placed in the right position at the falls.

"We're going to save Kevin and Russell!" Carl said, while guiding the flying house, and everyone cheered. Even Heather, though she was with her arms crossed, there was a slightly smile at her face. Then they heard someone knocking the door.

"Russell?" he said, surprised.

"I'll check," said Harold. He found Dug and brought him inside, and the dog asked Carl, "I was hiding under your porch because I love you. Can I stay?"

"Can you stay?" he replied, happy, "Well, you're my dog, aren't you? And I am your master."

"You are my master?" and leapt at him, euphorically licking his face.

After a while, they were approaching Muntz's dirigible.

"Let's review the plan again," said Carl, guiding the ship, "Harold, Goofy and Donald, you'll create a diversion, while me, Dug and Heather look for Kevin and Russell, gotcha?"

"Why I need to go with you?" Heather asked.

"Because if this thing you have is a key," he explained, "Then it mustn't be a common key, we may need her."

"Ha!" she thought, raising her eyebrow, "That guy thinks he knows more about the Keyblade than me..."

"But," Harold asked, "How are we going to get inside?"

"Don't worry," and he locked the steering and picked Russell's sash and the hose.

Suddenly, the entrance ramp of dirigible started to open, and they saw Russell, who had been captured by Muntz, stuck in a chair, slipping to his fall. Carl managed to launch the hose and save Russell in time.

"For an old man," Goofy remarked, "He's full of energy."

After placing Russell at a safe place, the group entered at the ship. Carl, Dug and Heather went to one side and Harold, Goofy and Donald went to the other. Harold's group went to the kitchen, where they faced some dogs.

"Who wants a piece of Haroldness, huh?" Harold taunted, swinging his nunchakus.

"Boy," Donald scoffed, "That was the worst taunting ever." Harold only frowned.

The dogs growled and showed their teeth, but they didn't attack. They started to smell something and ran away scared.

"Huh?" Goofy said, "Where the dogs go?"

Shadow Heartless started to rise from the ground and attack Harold, Donald and Goofy.

"They're everywhere!" Donald said.

Carl's group sneaked through the ventilation system, and they walked by the hangar. Shadow Heartless started to appear there too.

"Look," Heather cried and picking the Keyblade.

"We don't have time, let's keep going!" said Carl. They passed through the bridge of the hangar, knocking some creatures and entered Kevin's prison room by the upper part. And so Alpha and his minions by the main door.

"What we do now?" Carl asked as Dug was chewing the tennis ball of his cane. Then he had an idea: he picked the ball and threw it outside the room. The dogs followed it and then, Carl locked them outside.

"I must admit that was smart," Heather commented.

"I'm sorry Kevin, let's get out here," Carl said as he tried to open the cage, "It's locked... Heather!"

"This should work," Heather said and pointed the Keyblade to the lock. The weapon emitted a thin beam that unlocked the cage.

In the command bridge, Charles Muntz was receiving reports from his dogs, that the ship was invaded both by Carl and his friends and shadowy creatures.

"Does anybody know where they are?" and he stared Russell rubbing the window of the ship. Russell had fallen from the house and the only thing that separated him from the death was the hose. He, then, sent fighter planes. The planes took off and shot dart-bullets at Russell and the house.

Inside the ship, Carl, Dug, Heather and Kevin sneaked into the museum, only to meet Charles Muntz waiting to finish them personally, with a long sword. Dug noticed him approaching and bit him, but Dug was overpowered and Muntz locked him outside, with Alpha and other dogs (this group of dogs didn't see the Heartless). He had to run for his life.

Carl was scared and Heather nervously got the Keyblade. There was something strange with Muntz. He lunged forward, sending Heather away.

"Ouch!" she groaned on the floor, "How he became so strong?"

"He's not Muntz!" Carl cried as he blocked another blow with his cane, "He's someone else!" and he received a kick from Muntz. He cornered Carl and pointed the sword, talking with a slightly different voice, "Any last words, Fredericksen? Come on, spit out!" Carl really spited out his denture, startling Muntz.

Carl signed to Kevin to move out. Muntz quickly recovered and tried to attack Carl again, but he was hindered by Heather. They clashed their swords fiercely. When Muntz uplifted his sword, Heather attacked his belly, sending him away. He collided with the wall. Still lay down, he threw the sword at Heather. She ducked and the sword shattered the window.

At the bridge, Dug was cornered by Alpha and the dogs. But he accidentally pulled a lever that jolted the dirigible to the right and the left, causing a big mess at the museum. Carl almost fell from the ship, if he didn't hold to the window, where he could see planes assaulting his house. The dirigible stabilized and they escaped through the window, climbing a stair to the top, with Muntz relentlessly following them.

Inside, Dug was getting beaten by Alpha, the doberman was thrashing the golden retriever. Dug ran behind the steering wheel, and Alpha tried to bite him, passing through the span of the steering wheel, but Dug caught him with the cone of shame. To add more shame, his collar broke again and now he was talking again with his helium voice. The others dogs were so impressed that they decided to make Dug the new alpha dog. Now was Dug who gave orders to Alpha.

In the sky, Russell was still being harassed by the enemy planes, but Carl encouraged him when he was climbing the ladder of the dirigible. Russell got it and climbed the hose with all strength he could get together. When they flew to attack, Russell had an idea: "Squirrel!" he cried. The dogs became distracted and crashed their planes at each other, and they had to eject, with their parachutes.

Outside, Kevin, Heather and Carl were climbing the ladder, with Muntz following them. He tried to push Carl's foot, but he knocked him down with his cane, almost making him fall. For some reason, Muntz ceased pursuing them. They eventually reached the top. When they were there, they saw a hatch moving. Carl and Kevin became worried and Heather put herself in an offensive stance, but, when the hatch opened, it was only Dug.

"Dug!" Carl cheered.

"Master!" and he started to lick him.

"Oh, great," said Heather, as she stood down her weapon, "It's only the dog..."

Russell also brought the house, and he tried to land, since they had to wait for Harold, Donald and Goofy, who weren't having a nice time with the Heartless. They not only had to fight with the creatures, but they had to protect the dogs who were next to them.

"Look out!" Harold cried, as he attacked a Shadow that was jumping at Donald.

"Over there!" Donald cried when a Powerwild dashed into Harold direction and he cast Blizzard. They lifted their thumbs to each other.

"A-hyuck!" Goofy said, happy, "We can only defeat them together, as friends." And they kept attacking the Heartless.

Meanwhile, at the top of the ship, Muntz showed up and shot the balloons, with a rifle, causing the house to become unstable. Carl quickly got the hose and was trying to impede the house of falling. He knew that, if he loose the house, she wouldn't float steadily, due to massive loss of balloons.

"Heather," he cried, "I don't know how much time I can hold on! You must stop Muntz!"

Seeing that there was no alternative, she got the Keyblade and hold her position. Then, something strange happened. She heard what looked like a sound of something big stomping at the floor and Muntz started to hover.

"Ow, crap... Now the real battle has begun..." she charged, yelling at the enemy, but she was knocked by some kind of invisible punch. She got up and tried again, only to be struck again. The flying Muntz shot her, but he missed.

"This ain't work," she thought, "Hour of the Sonic Blade!" and she attacked using the technique. Seven attacks were delivered and Muntz fell on the ground, and the invisible enemy became visible. It was a large green chameleon, the Stealth Sneak, with the same dark-red heart symbol in its chest, seen in various other Heartless.

"So, this is getting worse," and she advance at the creature, attacking with the aerial combo, landing and attacking more. The enemy attacked with its tail, but she leapt, however, she was hit by its punch. Its eyes started to glow white, "Oh-oh, this can't be good," and she launched a fireball at its face. The creature was perturbed and Heather attacked with another combo, sending the creature to the ground.

When the creature was on the ground, she tried to look for Muntz "Where's him?"

Muntz already got up and was reloading his gun. After ignoring Carl, he went toward the house. Kevin, Dug and Russell were inside. Heather tried to run after, but the Stealth Sneak blocked her way. Carl used all his forces to hold the house and he didn't have much time, the hose would break in a while. Muntz soon would break the door and his friends were still inside.

On the other side, things weren't going well too. The Stealth Sneak slashed Heather away, making her fall on the floor, and it started to stomp her. Heather rolled over to avoid being stomped. He blocked the a stomp with the Keyblade and, after some struggle, she escaped. In that moment, a fireball hit the enemy. Donald, Goofy and Harold came to help them. Heather got up, saying, "Why you take so long? At least, you weren't so useless..."

"We know, Heather," Harold replied. They knew that this was her way to show gratitude, or, at least, they wanted to believe this.

Meanwhile, Carl had an idea, "Russell, hang on to Kevin! Don't let him go! Grab on to him!" In that time, Muntz finally broke the door. Russell and Dug were holding on to Kevin, as Carl ordered. When Muntz entered at the room they were, Carl picked up a chocolate bar, saying, "Kevin! Chocolate!" Kevin eagerly jumped out the house, taking Russell and Dug with her, with Muntz following. At the same time, the hose broke off the house, sending her into the clouds. Kevin, Russell and Dug managed to grab the hose Carl was holding, and Muntz almost got them, but, in the end, he was hit by the Stealth Sneak. Heather, Harold, Donald and Goofy were attacking the chameleon foe and managed to knock it off, with Goofy's ramming shield attack. The creature fell from the ship, taking Muntz together. It was their end and so of the battle.

Harold, Donald and Goofy helped Carl to pull up Kevin, Russell and Dug. They were finally safe. Everyone was happy, in spite of losing his house.

"Sorry about your house, Mr. Fredericksen." Russell said, trying to console him.

"You know," Carl replied, with a rising smile at his face, "It's just a house."

"Muntz is not here…" Goofy commented, looking to the view under them.

"Poor Muntz," Carl replied, sadly, "He's gone. He lost his heart. His obsession made him lose the ability to differ friend from foe."

Then, Harold apologized to Donald, since they had their difference, but were friends, "Sorry about what I said. Looks like LeShawna is not here."

"I'm sorry too, neither the King, that fight was useless" he replied, and they shook their hands.

Goofy placed his hands on Donald and Harold's shoulder, saying, "Yeah, all for one, huh? We'll find them for sure!"

"Good," Heather commented, "Now you're friends, you can slain Heartless more efficiently."

The three ones looked each other and nodded to do something, "What you're going to do?" Heather asked. Then, they hugged Heather. She yelled, "Guys! We need to act professionally, guys! You are embarrassing me, I'm a lady!" and they let her go, with everyone laughing at her. Heather closed her eyes and tried to maintain a serious pose, but inside she liked, because, in the end they cared with her. The feeling wasn't mutual (maybe a little… very little).

The dogs were now their friends and helped them to guide the ship to the rocky labyrinth. No more Heartless appeared. When they arrived at the rocky labyrinth, they stepped out the ship. Kevin called her four chicks, and one of them didn't look like a birdie.

"Look who's there," Heather said, smirking.

The fourth chick was, in fact, Geoff. His clothes, his pink shirt chiefly, were completely dirty and rotten and he was without hat. He was acting like a chick, poking them with his nose and eating worms.

"Geoff," said Harold, "Wake up!" Heather slapped him, but without effect. She slapped him more, but neither slap was working.

"Heather," Donald said, "I thinks this isn't gonna work."

"I know," she replied, with an evil grin.

"That was cheap..." the duck lamented.

"Hey, Geoff," Harold said, "There's a party over there and they didn't invite you."

"What," he snapped out, "This is ridiculous! I know there's a mistake somewhere. But well... Where am I?"

"Don't you remember anything?" Harold asked.

"I only remember of waking up in this jungle, then I met an old man who helped me first and then accused me of stealing something, then I fled to somewhere, then I got lost, then I fell down, then I'm here now..."

"You were acting like a chick," Harold clarified him.

"Really, dude?"

Harold nodded and continued, "It looks like you were adopted by Kevin."

"Yeah," Heather said, "And you were eating worms."

"That this disgusting," said Geoff, showing his tongue in disgust, "But also awesome! I can't wait to tell everyone that my adoptive mom is a bird! Whoa, what an adventure!"

"That's something I'd expect from Izzy," Heather said, as the itchy in her nape returned.

"I think this belongs to you," Carl said, bringing his cowboy hat.

"Thanks dude!" and Geoff put his hat.

Her (real) chicks stayed playing for a while with Russell, Carl, Harold, Donald, Goofy and their adoptive brother, Geoff. Heather only watched them, arms crossed. After a while, Kevin called her chicks back, it was time for them to go now.

"Adios, amigos!" said Harold.

"Bye bros!" Geoff waved to them.

"Where is my cane? I just had it!" Carl asked, only to find Kevin puking the cane, and the chicks puking the balls. "You know what? Keep them. A little gift from me to you."

"Bye, Kevin!" said Russell, also waving.

"Bye!" Donald waved too.

"See ya!" Goofy said.

Kevin replied with a yowl, and entered at her home, along with her chicks.

Heather didn't say anything, only waved his right hand to them, with her typical languid expression. "Yawn... Now I think it's time to move out... What?" her Keyblade and the keyhole at the arc started to glow. The beam was shot out from the weapon and entered at the keyhole. The sound of something closing was heard. A gummi got out the keyhole afterwards and Donald picked it.

"A gummi," he said.

"But it's sure not the king's," Goofy added.

"Oh," Heather said, looking at the closed keyhole, "I'd completely forget of the keyhole."

"CONGRATULATIONS!" a low-pitched voice said from above.

"Oh, no, here we go again," she slapped her forehead, "Harold you know what you must do."

"HAROLD, YOU DON'T NEED TO PICK YOUR NUM-YOS, I KNOW WHAT'S YOUR PLAN AND SO I'LL STAY HERE! AND HERE'S THE PRIZE FOR SEALING AMAZONIAN PLATEAU, YOU WIN THIS," and a green gem floated in a parachute. Heather picked the gem and it started to float, became dust and entered at Heather's wig. She could use Cure by now.

"I'LL BE WAITING YOU AT TOTAL... DRAMA... WORLDS!" and the ship departed.

"That guy is your friend?" asked Russell. Heather, Geoff and Harold started to laugh loudly.

"Don't worry," Geoff said, clearing a tear from his eye, "What matters now go home, see our friends, the jungle teach me something I must tell Bridgette..."

"Umm, Geoff," said Harold, rubbing the back of his head, "There's something I need to tell you about our home... Later. For now, let's say good bye to our friends."

"Wait," Carl said, "I want to give something. This belonged to Ellie." It was a chain, of the same type of the Keyblade. It was chain with a symbol that resembled a blue compass rose, the name was Unlimited Explorer, "I want you to stay with this."

"Thanks, Carl." Harold shook his hands, "Heather, why don't you try it on the Keyblade."

"Okay," she shrugged. The Keyblade had its keychain, the Kingdom Key, which had a chain and the symbol of the King, one big circle and two little ones attached to big one, resembling the head of a mouse. She switched the keychain to see what would happen. The Keyblade started to glow and, in a flash, transformed into other form. It increased its size and the blade was now blue, with a 8-point compass rose at its extremity.

"Make good use," Carl said, "Now it's time to us to leave," and Carl, Russell and Dug entered at the dirigible, returning for their world.

"Our ship is coming too," Goofy said, and the royal gummi ship approached and landed.

While they were walking into, Heather commented, "The gummi block that came out of that glowing hole... It's not like the others. Wonder what it's used for."

"I dunno." answered Donald.

"Maybe Scott'll know," Goofy suggested.

"Hmm..." Donald said, tapping his chin, "He might. Back to Traverse Town, then?"

"Cool," Harold said, "Now I wanna be the pilot!"

"Hey, stop it!"

"Oh, come on! It's my dream!"

"I don't care! No!"

"Here we go again," said Goofy.

"Nerds and ducks," Heather rolled her eyes. They took off and they could see Carl and Russell guiding the dirigible, and the dogs barking happily to them. With a last wave of hands, they left the world.

As they left, Maleficient's group was watching them.

"What drew the Heartless to that world?" the short man with big hat and robe asked. He was Lord Farquaad, ruler of the principality of Duloc, a state from the kingdom of Far Far Away.

"The old man lured them there." Maleficent explained, "It was his lust for fame that was the bait. But it seems the bait was too tasty for his own good."

"Yeah, he got chomped instead!" the dirty sack of bug known as Oogie-Boogie, the bully of Halloween Town, laughed.

"A weak-hearted fool like him stood no chance against the Heartless. But the girl is a problem. She found two of the Keyholes. Thanks to you." Lord Farquaad pointed to LeShawna.

"My plan may be foiled," the figure said, transforming from LeShawna to the shapeshifting mutant Mystique, "But the essence remains. If we mess with their minds, they won't stand a chance against the darkness."

"Enough. Fear not, it will take him ages to find the rest." Maleficent smirked, "Besides, she remains blissfully unaware of our other plan."

"Yes, the princess..." Oogie-Boogie commented, eagerly.

"They are falling into our hands, one by one." Then, she looked at a scared Muriel entering at the room, "Speaking of which..."


	12. Down¡, pt 2

**A.N.:** Here's the conclusion of the world. I tried to do the same thing the creators of the original did, including Sora and the group and making them changing the plot, with the same result, even utilizing various lines. Please, review, because I need the feedback. In the end I'll spoil my own story. As said, I'll replace some worlds, while others I'll maintain, due to plot issues, how to include TDI characters at the worlds. To end, I'll not include all of them in this story, I intend to cover all games, which is not an easy task (I noticed that, until the present time, nobody managed to clear all three games, the odds are against me but and yet I'm trying, hehe).

**Update**: Rewriting, I realized that some parts may qualify as plagiarism, so the chapter is under rewriting process.

* * *

They walked through the jungle all the day. Kevin lay on the porch, in bad shape, while everyone was pulling the house by the hose turned rope, relaying when necessary. Dug's nose was handy in that time, because he could smell the Heartless, and so they stayed aware, avoiding ambushes. Heather, Harold, Donald and Goofy eliminated all Heartless that tried to approach the house. The march was slowed by the enemies, but the change of turns to pull the house discounted some loss time. They were facing one more group of foes.

"For the last time," Donald said to Harold, after barely escape from the dash attack of a Powerwild, and casting Blizzard at a Blue Rhapsody, "Never hit a Large Body in the front. Next time don't be so dumb!"

"Ouch!" moaned Harold, on the ground, rubbing his head, "Go-osh! And you, don't cast Blizzard at the blue-ones! Idiot!"

"Brrrrllll," Donald chattered his teeth, after receiving the icy attack.

"Umm... guys," Goofy said, trying to calm down everyone and protecting himself from swipes of a Powerwild, "can't we just get along?" but Harold and Donald were too busy to listen him.

"Look, that monkey is entering at the house," Carl shouted, while holding the hose along with Russell, in safe distance from the battle, "Get it, Heather! You're next to it!"

"Please," she replied as she attacked the Large Body by the back, "I have my own problems!" and Kevin grabbed the Heartless by the beak and threw it away. Goofy used his shield to defeat it.

"Point!" Dug said, as he pointed to a direction with his nose, "More creatures incoming."

"Great!" Heather said, as she used Blizzard to finish the Large Body, "Just what we need..."

Five more Powerwild appeared from the bushes and started rushing at them. Heather used Sonic Blade, but she tripped a rock and fell rolling like a bundle of meat, knocking away the Heartless.

"Good strike, Heather!" Carl commented, snickering a little. Heather whacked at a tree, messing her wig up. Harold, Donald and Goofy managed to finish the remaining Heartless.

"Grr..." she mumbled as she fixed her wig, "Now what?"

"We did it!" Harold cheered, "We save the house again, despite Donald..."

"Wak! You think you're so smart..."

"Stop it," Carl ordered, "We must focus on bringing the house to the rocky labyrinth, for Kevin."

"Don't worry Kevin," Russell said, petting the bird, "We'll bring you to your chicks very soon, they are protecting us."

"Mr. Fredericksen, I'd like to make a question," Donald said.

"Sure," he answered, smiling, "But call me Carl."

"Do you know what is this?" Donald asked, showing the gummi block that Kevin puked on him (but now was clean).

"Hmm... They're called aerolastic bricks, used to make planes and other things. I used them on my house, to make her travel."

"Oh, I see..." Donald became a little downcast, because that means that perhaps the gummi block wasn't of the King, but from Carl. But now he had to continue with his duty with Carl.

They reached the rocky labyrinth at the night. Dug confirmed that they weren't being followed. Not only Kevin would be reunited with her chicks, but the keyhole of the world was in the higher rock of the arc that marked the entrance of the labyrinth, and Carl had spare time to bring his house to Paradise Falls. Everything was in perfect harmony.

"There it is!" Russell cried.

"Finally, Kevin can return to her home," said Goofy.

Carl held him by his rope, and untied him, "Hold on, Russell! Stand still."

"Look, the keyhole at that rock," Heather said, "Of the same type we saw at Nowhere."

"I believe you must use the Keyblade there," Harold replied, "And then, we can find LeShawna."

"It's like to kill two birds with one stone," Donald added, then talked under his breath, "No way we're going to continue the searches..."

"Look at that bird!" Carl said, running behind Kevin, "Wait up, your overgrown chicken!"

"That's it! Go Kevin! Go find your babies!" Russell cheered.

But the happy moments were about to end soon. Muntz's dirigible followed them, following Dug's collar, only waiting them to be at an open space, and he captured Kevin throwing a net at her. The group tried to set Kevin free, but Muntz stepped down and went toward Carl's house, setting fire on her. Carl preferred to save his house instead of saving Kevin. Heather didn't help too.

"Heather," Russell cried, "Where are you going?"

She walked to the keyhole and glanced to Russell, "That keyhole means that my job here is done."

"But Kevin?"

"I have my priorities, and, if Kevin got caught, she won't die, the old coot needs her alive. Wish happy zoo life for her."

Her attitude made Harold, Donald and Goofy confused and they didn't know if they assist Carl, Kevin or Heather. The pack brought the bird onto the ship and Muntz left the place.

Heather pointed the Keyblade to the keyhole, but nothing happened. "Huh? Odd..." she tried again, tapping the Keyblade, "It doesn't work... Come on, unleash your magic!"

"Heather!" Harold cried, "What's the big idea? Your bad leadership skills let Kevin be caught and almost burned the house!"

"My business is to use the Keyblade," Heather replied, "It's the Keyblade. That means it's a key, and that means I have to use the key in the keyholes, isn't it? PRIORITIES... But it didn't work."

"But Heather..." and she ignored him.

Almost nobody cared with Russell. The poor boy was disheartened, "You gave away Kevin... You just... gave her away..."

Carl was extinguishing the last flame. His house almost became ashes and now he was with his hands holding the house, gasping. Without looking back, Carl replied, "This is none of my concern", then he turned, nervous, "I didn't ask for ANYTHING!"

Dug tried to comfort him, "Master, it's all right."

"I am not your master!" he replied, still nervous, "If you hadn't show up, none of these would have happened. Bad dog! Bad dog!" and Dug walked away, glum.

"Umm..." Goofy tried to say something, but was harshly interrupted by Carl.

"And you, freak ones! Go away, whatever are you doing! I don't want your help anymore!"

"So that's how you thank me?" Heather complained.

"Heather," Donald said, "Forget." and she shrugged.

"Whether you assist me or not," Carl continued, "I am going to Paradise Falls, even if it kills me!" and he, alone, pulled away the house to Paradise Falls. Without anywhere to go, everyone followed him. Harold said they needed to watch him, if he'd suffer injuries.

They reached the bingo point at the morning. Carl landed the house and looked at the view, it was a nice view. His promise was complete now, but he wasn't totally happy. Russell was upset with everyone, particularly with Carl and Heather, who abandoned Kevin.

"Here," and he put his scout sash away, "I don't need this anymore," then he looked to Heather, "You are a selfish witch!" and kicked her shin.

"Ouch!" she moaned. She didn't kick him back, because he was just a kid and she had other reason: she started to feel a weight on her conscience, "Great, another of these things?" she thought, "Go away, like the others!" she tried to ignore the feeling, like she always did, but this time the feeling was stronger; she started to feel an immense itchy feeling on her nape, "Fine! I'll help them! Just stop!" and the itchy pressure stopped, "What was that? Like it wasn't me…" was her final thought. Russell sat on a rock, and Harold tried to comfort him, but he refused to be consolated. Goofy and Donald also sat down on the rocky floor, also waiting for nothing.

"What we do now, Donald?" Goofy asked.

"Ow... I don't know, Goofy... There's no reason to stay here anymore," he answered, looking down, "But I feel we have to do something..."

Carl entered at his house. After the trip, it was a mess inside. The first thing he cleared up was the living room, his and Ellie's chairs. Always been silent without her. He sat down and grabbed her special scrapbook, "My Adventure Book". Before he started to look through, Heather came to the door and asked, without her normal hostile tone, "So, you've completed your mission... What comes next?"

Before he could reply, Harold showed up and poked her away, "If you want to help, stay quiet." She frowned and followed him out.

Without bothering, he opened the book, to pay homage to his beloved partner. He replaced a figure that was in his pocket and started to look at the pages, ending in one saying, "Stuff I'm going to do," and then he prepared to close the book. But he saw something that kept him looking at the book, since he never passed from that page. Ellie had filled the blank pages with photos of their married life. Carl looked at every single one, as memories flowed through his mind. In the last page, she wrote a note, "Thanks for the adventure – Go for a new one! Love, Ellie."

He remembered from the very promise he made when he was a young boy like Russell and this made him remember of the promise he made with Russell. He quickly got out the house, only to find Russell snatching some balloons and was on his way to save Kevin, alone. He tried to follow him, moving the house, but it wasn't working. Then he had an idea.

"Heather, Harold, Donald, Goofy!" he cried to them, who were staring at the flying boy, "Help me out!"

"A-hyuck!" Goofy answered, "What we gonna do?"

He threw away a chair and said, "Let's get rid of the weight!"

"But these are your memories," Harold reasoned, "You made so much effort to build them and now are you going to let them away?"

"I know I won't forget anything because every single piece of this house is in my heart!" and the group helped Carl to get rid of everything. They threw everything away, and the house took off. Only his and Ellie's seat where placed in the right position at the falls.

"We're going to save Kevin and Russell!" Carl said, while guiding the flying house, and everyone cheered. Even Heather, though she was with her arms crossed, there was a slightly smile at her face. Then they heard someone knocking the door.

"Russell?" he said, surprised.

"I'll check," said Harold. He found Dug and brought him inside, and the dog asked Carl, "I was hiding under your porch because I love you. Can I stay?"

"Can you stay?" he replied, happy, "Well, you're my dog, aren't you? And I am your master."

"You are my master?" and leapt at him, euphorically licking his face.

After a while, they were approaching Muntz's dirigible.

"Let's review the plan again," said Carl, guiding the ship, "Harold, Goofy and Donald, you'll create a diversion, while me, Dug and Heather look for Kevin and Russell, gotcha?"

"Why I need to go with you?" Heather asked.

"Because if this thing you have is a key," he explained, "Then it mustn't be a common key, we may need her."

"Ha!" she thought, raising her eyebrow, "That guy thinks he knows more about the Keyblade than me..."

"But," Harold asked, "How are we going to get inside?"

"Don't worry," and he locked the steering and picked Russell's sash and the hose.

Suddenly, the entrance ramp of dirigible started to open, and they saw Russell, who had been captured by Muntz, stuck in a chair, slipping to his fall. Carl managed to launch the hose and save Russell in time.

"For an old man," Goofy remarked, "He's full of energy."

After placing Russell at a safe place, the group entered at the ship. Carl, Dug and Heather went to one side and Harold, Goofy and Donald went to the other. Harold's group went to the kitchen, where they faced some dogs.

"Who wants a piece of Haroldness, huh?" Harold taunted, swinging his nunchakus.

"Boy," Donald scoffed, "That was the worst taunting ever." Harold only frowned.

The dogs growled and showed their teeth, but they didn't attack. They started to smell something and ran away scared.

"Huh?" Goofy said, "Where the dogs go?"

Shadow Heartless started to rise from the ground and attack Harold, Donald and Goofy.

"They're everywhere!" Donald said.

Carl's group sneaked through the ventilation system, and they walked by the hangar. Shadow Heartless started to appear there too.

"Look," Heather cried and picking the Keyblade.

"We don't have time, let's keep going!" said Carl. They passed through the bridge of the hangar, knocking some creatures and entered Kevin's prison room by the upper part. And so Alpha and his minions by the main door.

"What we do now?" Carl asked as Dug was chewing the tennis ball of his cane. Then he had an idea: he picked the ball and threw it outside the room. The dogs followed it and then, Carl locked them outside.

"I must admit that was smart," Heather commented.

"I'm sorry Kevin, let's get out here," Carl said as he tried to open the cage, "It's locked... Heather!"

"This should work," Heather said and pointed the Keyblade to the lock. The weapon emitted a thin beam that unlocked the cage.

In the command bridge, Charles Muntz was receiving reports from his dogs, that the ship was invaded both by Carl and his friends and shadowy creatures.

"Does anybody know where they are?" and he stared Russell rubbing the window of the ship. Russell had fallen from the house and the only thing that separated him from the death was the hose. He, then, sent fighter planes. The planes took off and shot dart-bullets at Russell and the house.

Inside the ship, Carl, Dug, Heather and Kevin sneaked into the museum, only to meet Charles Muntz waiting to finish them personally, with a long sword. Dug noticed him approaching and bit him, but Dug was overpowered and Muntz locked him outside, with Alpha and other dogs (this group of dogs didn't see the Heartless). He had to run for his life.

Carl was scared and Heather nervously got the Keyblade. There was something strange with Muntz. He lunged forward, sending Heather away.

"Ouch!" she groaned on the floor, "How he became so strong?"

"He's not Muntz!" Carl cried as he blocked another blow with his cane, "He's someone else!" and he received a kick from Muntz. He cornered Carl and pointed the sword, talking with a slightly different voice, "Any last words, Fredericksen? Come on, spit out!" Carl really spited out his denture, startling Muntz.

Carl signed to Kevin to move out. Muntz quickly recovered and tried to attack Carl again, but he was hindered by Heather. They clashed their swords fiercely. When Muntz uplifted his sword, Heather attacked his belly, sending him away. He collided with the wall. Still lay down, he threw the sword at Heather. She ducked and the sword shattered the window.

At the bridge, Dug was cornered by Alpha and the dogs. But he accidentally pulled a lever that jolted the dirigible to the right and the left, causing a big mess at the museum. Carl almost fell from the ship, if he didn't hold to the window, where he could see planes assaulting his house. The dirigible stabilized and they escaped through the window, climbing a stair to the top, with Muntz relentlessly following them.

Inside, Dug was getting beaten by Alpha, the doberman was thrashing the golden retriever. Dug ran behind the steering wheel, and Alpha tried to bite him, passing through the span of the steering wheel, but Dug caught him with the cone of shame. To add more shame, his collar broke again and now he was talking again with his helium voice. The others dogs were so impressed that they decided to make Dug the new alpha dog. Now was Dug who gave orders to Alpha.

In the sky, Russell was still being harassed by the enemy planes, but Carl encouraged him when he was climbing the ladder of the dirigible. Russell got it and climbed the hose with all strength he could get together. When they flew to attack, Russell had an idea: "Squirrel!" he cried. The dogs became distracted and crashed their planes at each other, and they had to eject, with their parachutes.

Outside, Kevin, Heather and Carl were climbing the ladder, with Muntz following them. He tried to push Carl's foot, but he knocked him down with his cane, almost making him fall. For some reason, Muntz ceased pursuing them. They eventually reached the top. When they were there, they saw a hatch moving. Carl and Kevin became worried and Heather put herself in an offensive stance, but, when the hatch opened, it was only Dug.

"Dug!" Carl cheered.

"Master!" and he started to lick him.

"Oh, great," said Heather, as she stood down her weapon, "It's only the dog..."

Russell also brought the house, and he tried to land, since they had to wait for Harold, Donald and Goofy, who weren't having a nice time with the Heartless. They not only had to fight with the creatures, but they had to protect the dogs who were next to them.

"Look out!" Harold cried, as he attacked a Shadow that was jumping at Donald.

"Over there!" Donald cried when a Powerwild dashed into Harold direction and he cast Blizzard. They lifted their thumbs to each other.

"A-hyuck!" Goofy said, happy, "We can only defeat them together, as friends." And they kept attacking the Heartless.

Meanwhile, at the top of the ship, Muntz showed up and shot the balloons, with a rifle, causing the house to become unstable. Carl quickly got the hose and was trying to impede the house of falling. He knew that, if he loose the house, she wouldn't float steadily, due to massive loss of balloons.

"Heather," he cried, "I don't know how much time I can hold on! You must stop Muntz!"

Seeing that there was no alternative, she got the Keyblade and hold her position. Then, something strange happened. She heard what looked like a sound of something big stomping at the floor and Muntz started to hover.

"Ow, crap... Now the real battle has begun..." she charged, yelling at the enemy, but she was knocked by some kind of invisible punch. She got up and tried again, only to be struck again. The flying Muntz shot her, but he missed.

"This ain't work," she thought, "Hour of the Sonic Blade!" and she attacked using the technique. Seven attacks were delivered and Muntz fell on the ground, and the invisible enemy became visible. It was a large green chameleon, the Stealth Sneak, with the same dark-red heart symbol in its chest, seen in various other Heartless.

"So, this is getting worse," and she advance at the creature, attacking with the aerial combo, landing and attacking more. The enemy attacked with its tail, but she leapt, however, she was hit by its punch. Its eyes started to glow white, "Oh-oh, this can't be good," and she launched a fireball at its face. The creature was perturbed and Heather attacked with another combo, sending the creature to the ground.

When the creature was on the ground, she tried to look for Muntz "Where's him?"

Muntz already got up and was reloading his gun. After ignoring Carl, he went toward the house. Kevin, Dug and Russell were inside. Heather tried to run after, but the Stealth Sneak blocked her way. Carl used all his forces to hold the house and he didn't have much time, the hose would break in a while. Muntz soon would break the door and his friends were still inside.

On the other side, things weren't going well too. The Stealth Sneak slashed Heather away, making her fall on the floor, and it started to stomp her. Heather rolled over to avoid being stomped. He blocked the a stomp with the Keyblade and, after some struggle, she escaped. In that moment, a fireball hit the enemy. Donald, Goofy and Harold came to help them. Heather got up, saying, "Why you take so long? At least, you weren't so useless..."

"We know, Heather," Harold replied. They knew that this was her way to show gratitude, or, at least, they wanted to believe this.

Meanwhile, Carl had an idea, "Russell, hang on to Kevin! Don't let him go! Grab on to him!" In that time, Muntz finally broke the door. Russell and Dug were holding on to Kevin, as Carl ordered. When Muntz entered at the room they were, Carl picked up a chocolate bar, saying, "Kevin! Chocolate!" Kevin eagerly jumped out the house, taking Russell and Dug with her, with Muntz following. At the same time, the hose broke off the house, sending her into the clouds. Kevin, Russell and Dug managed to grab the hose Carl was holding, and Muntz almost got them, but, in the end, he was hit by the Stealth Sneak. Heather, Harold, Donald and Goofy were attacking the chameleon foe and managed to knock it off, with Goofy's ramming shield attack. The creature fell from the ship, taking Muntz together. It was their end and so of the battle.

Harold, Donald and Goofy helped Carl to pull up Kevin, Russell and Dug. They were finally safe. Everyone was happy, in spite of losing his house.

"Sorry about your house, Mr. Fredericksen." Russell said, trying to console him.

"You know," Carl replied, with a rising smile at his face, "It's just a house."

"Muntz is not here…" Goofy commented, looking to the view under them.

"Poor Muntz," Carl replied, sadly, "He's gone. He lost his heart. His obsession made him lose the ability to differ friend from foe."

Then, Harold apologized to Donald, since they had their difference, but were friends, "Sorry about what I said. Looks like LeShawna is not here."

"I'm sorry too, neither the King, that fight was useless" he replied, and they shook their hands.

Goofy placed his hands on Donald and Harold's shoulder, saying, "Yeah, all for one, huh? We'll find them for sure!"

"Good," Heather commented, "Now you're friends, you can slain Heartless more efficiently."

The three ones looked each other and nodded to do something, "What you're going to do?" Heather asked. Then, they hugged Heather. She yelled, "Guys! We need to act professionally, guys! You are embarrassing me, I'm a lady!" and they let her go, with everyone laughing at her. Heather closed her eyes and tried to maintain a serious pose, but inside she liked, because, in the end they cared with her. The feeling wasn't mutual (maybe a little… very little).

The dogs were now their friends and helped them to guide the ship to the rocky labyrinth. No more Heartless appeared. When they arrived at the rocky labyrinth, they stepped out the ship. Kevin called her four chicks, and one of them didn't look like a birdie.

"Look who's there," Heather said, smirking.

The fourth chick was, in fact, Geoff. His clothes, his pink shirt chiefly, were completely dirty and rotten and he was without hat. He was acting like a chick, poking them with his nose and eating worms.

"Geoff," said Harold, "Wake up!" Heather slapped him, but without effect. She slapped him more, but neither slap was working.

"Heather," Donald said, "I thinks this isn't gonna work."

"I know," she replied, with an evil grin.

"That was cheap..." the duck lamented.

"Hey, Geoff," Harold said, "There's a party over there and they didn't invite you."

"What," he snapped out, "This is ridiculous! I know there's a mistake somewhere. But well... Where am I?"

"Don't you remember anything?" Harold asked.

"I only remember of waking up in this jungle, then I met an old man who helped me first and then accused me of stealing something, then I fled to somewhere, then I got lost, then I fell down, then I'm here now..."

"You were acting like a chick," Harold clarified him.

"Really, dude?"

Harold nodded and continued, "It looks like you were adopted by Kevin."

"Yeah," Heather said, "And you were eating worms."

"That this disgusting," said Geoff, showing his tongue in disgust, "But also awesome! I can't wait to tell everyone that my adoptive mom is a bird! Whoa, what an adventure!"

"That's something I'd expect from Izzy," Heather said, as the itchy in her nape returned.

"I think this belongs to you," Carl said, bringing his cowboy hat.

"Thanks dude!" and Geoff put his hat.

Her (real) chicks stayed playing for a while with Russell, Carl, Harold, Donald, Goofy and their adoptive brother, Geoff. Heather only watched them, arms crossed. After a while, Kevin called her chicks back, it was time for them to go now.

"Adios, amigos!" said Harold.

"Bye bros!" Geoff waved to them.

"Where is my cane? I just had it!" Carl asked, only to find Kevin puking the cane, and the chicks puking the balls. "You know what? Keep them. A little gift from me to you."

"Bye, Kevin!" said Russell, also waving.

"Bye!" Donald waved too.

"See ya!" Goofy said.

Kevin replied with a yowl, and entered at her home, along with her chicks.

Heather didn't say anything, only waved his right hand to them, with her typical languid expression. "Yawn... Now I think it's time to move out... What?" her Keyblade and the keyhole at the arc started to glow. The beam was shot out from the weapon and entered at the keyhole. The sound of something closing was heard. A gummi got out the keyhole afterwards and Donald picked it.

"A gummi," he said.

"But it's sure not the king's," Goofy added.

"Oh," Heather said, looking at the closed keyhole, "I'd completely forget of the keyhole."

"CONGRATULATIONS!" a low-pitched voice said from above.

"Oh, no, here we go again," she slapped her forehead, "Harold you know what you must do."

"HAROLD, YOU DON'T NEED TO PICK YOUR NUM-YOS, I KNOW WHAT'S YOUR PLAN AND SO I'LL STAY HERE! AND HERE'S THE PRIZE FOR SEALING AMAZONIAN PLATEAU, YOU WIN THIS," and a green gem floated in a parachute. Heather picked the gem and it started to float, became dust and entered at Heather's wig. She could use Cure by now.

"I'LL BE WAITING YOU AT TOTAL... DRAMA... WORLDS!" and the ship departed.

"That guy is your friend?" asked Russell. Heather, Geoff and Harold started to laugh loudly.

"Don't worry," Geoff said, clearing a tear from his eye, "What matters now go home, see our friends, the jungle teach me something I must tell Bridgette..."

"Umm, Geoff," said Harold, rubbing the back of his head, "There's something I need to tell you about our home... Later. For now, let's say good bye to our friends."

"Wait," Carl said, "I want to give something. This belonged to Ellie." It was a chain, of the same type of the Keyblade. It was chain with a symbol that resembled a blue compass rose, the name was Unlimited Explorer, "I want you to stay with this."

"Thanks, Carl." Harold shook his hands, "Heather, why don't you try it on the Keyblade."

"Okay," she shrugged. The Keyblade had its keychain, the Kingdom Key, which had a chain and the symbol of the King, one big circle and two little ones attached to big one, resembling the head of a mouse. She switched the keychain to see what would happen. The Keyblade started to glow and, in a flash, transformed into other form. It increased its size and the blade was now blue, with a 8-point compass rose at its extremity.

"Make good use," Carl said, "Now it's time to us to leave," and Carl, Russell and Dug entered at the dirigible, returning for their world.

"Our ship is coming too," Goofy said, and the royal gummi ship approached and landed.

While they were walking into, Heather commented, "The gummi block that came out of that glowing hole... It's not like the others. Wonder what it's used for."

"I dunno." answered Donald.

"Maybe Scott'll know," Goofy suggested.

"Hmm..." Donald said, tapping his chin, "He might. Back to Traverse Town, then?"

"Cool," Harold said, "Now I wanna be the pilot!"

"Hey, stop it!"

"Oh, come on! It's my dream!"

"I don't care! No!"

"Here we go again," said Goofy.

"Nerds and ducks," Heather rolled her eyes. They took off and they could see Carl and Russell guiding the dirigible, and the dogs barking happily to them. With a last wave of hands, they left the world.

As they left, Maleficient's group was watching them.

"What drew the Heartless to that world?" the short man with big hat and robe asked. He was Lord Farquaad, ruler of the principality of Duloc, a state from the kingdom of Far Far Away.

"The old man lured them there." Maleficent explained, "It was his lust for fame that was the bait. But it seems the bait was too tasty for his own good."

"Yeah, he got chomped instead!" the dirty sack of bug known as Oogie-Boogie, the bully of Halloween Town, laughed.

"A weak-hearted fool like him stood no chance against the Heartless. But the girl is a problem. She found two of the Keyholes. Thanks to you." Lord Farquaad pointed to LeShawna.

"My plan may be foiled," the figure said, transforming from LeShawna to the shapeshifting mutant Mystique, "But the essence remains. If we mess with their minds, they won't stand a chance against the darkness."

"Enough. Fear not, it will take him ages to find the rest." Maleficent smirked, "Besides, she remains blissfully unaware of our other plan."

"Yes, the princess..." Oogie-Boogie commented, eagerly.

"They are falling into our hands, one by one." Then, she looked at a scared Muriel entering at the room, "Speaking of which..."


	13. Dark Illusion, pt 1

**A.N.:** Another chapter. Plz, R&R, :D

* * *

_Welcome back t TOTAL... DRAMA... WORLDS! Last time, thanks to Harold _(shows Harold arguing with Donald)_ our group landed at a jungle world. After they find a gummi block, they decided to stay and explore the wilderness. They were taken as prisoners by a group of dogs _(shows them being taking to Muntz)_ and met a man with a flying house _(show Carl and his house)_ but they enjoy freedom for a while _(shows the dogs freeing the group)_. After discovering that the other group, had something Muntz was looking for _(shows Russell pointing to the bird skeleton)_ they had to run for their lives _(shows Kevin bringing them)_. Heather and the others had to take the injured bird for her home _(shows everyone pulling the house)_ but they find out that Muntz has been predicting their steps _(show Muntz capturing the bird)_. After an argument _(shows Carl yelling at everyone)_, Russell took matter in his own hand _(shows Russell snagging some balloons)_ and they went after him_ (shows Carl guiding the house). _Arriving at the ship, they free Kevin _(shows opening Kevin's cage)_ and they had to fight Muntz and his ally _(shows they battling and defeating Muntz and the Stealth Sneak)_. And so they cleared the world, but what challenges wait for them? Discover at TOTAL... DRAMA... WORLDS!_

"Annoying as ever!" Heather commented, watching the gummi ship TV.

"I don't understand," said Goofy, "Why he's treating us like some TV characters?"

"And, more important," Donald added, switching to automatic pilot, "where does he get the footage? That's spying, definitively spying..."

"It sounds like you don't have reality shows at your world," Beth said.

"Chris is unstoppable now," Harold remarked, "However, I don't think he's doing any harm at the present moment."

"I don't think so," Heather said, suspicious, "Perhaps he destroyed our world, and is sending waves of Heartless only to run this thing of Total Drama Worlds. He has already showed he could do anything for ratings."

"Like accepting your audition for the show," Beth sarcastically replied.

"Hey, what's the meaning of this?"

"Girls," Geoff said, "Let's calm down, we are just having a good time, breaking the stress, relax..."

"If he has such great power," Goofy said, "He'd wear some evil clothes, inspiring fear whenever he shows up..." Everyone thought this comment was awkward, but somewhat logical.

"Sometimes, it's not that way that works," Beth replied, "During the first day at Wawanakwa, nobody thought that Gwen was a nice person, Justin was so shy, or Heather was so evil only looking their clothes. Don't be deceived by his good looks, Chris will always be the evil, sadistic host we know."

"I like to talk the necessary," Justin amended, without bothering too much, "since my beautiful body does all the job," and he looked at his hand mirror, grinning to himself.

"WAK!" Donald said, shocked, "Whaddya mean with 'Heather was so evil'?"

"Oh, please," Heather replied, frowning, totally ignoring Donald's question, "I was just doing the necessary to win, it was one-hundred thousand dollars. And I would have won, if Gwen and Owen didn't sabotage me."

"You still don't have any remorse, huh?" Beth said, turning to an unimpressed look and crossing her arms.

"Why should I have? That was only for business. You really think I'd make your life miserable something only because I like? Maybe, but in normal circumstances I'd simply ignore your pathetic existence."

Beth sighed, and didn't say anything, afraid of what would come next, Harold and Geoff looked down, Donald and Goofy became worried, since they were learning what the King meant with 'bad feeling', and Justin ignored everyone and kept staring himself. She frowned at them and said, "Hmpf! Do whatever you want, I need to groom my wig." and went to the toilet.

"Sighs... Heather is a well of wisdom!" Beth used all the sarcasm she could get together to say this.

"Gawrsh! How can she be so nasty?" Goofy asked, "Beth, could you tell us?"

And so, since she had good memory, Beth started to narrate Heather's actions at Wawanakwa, with Harold and Geoff confirming everything. After she finished, Donald only sadly remarked, "Why? Why did the King send us to this mission? Oww..." and facepalmed.

"Gawrsh! That explains many things. This doesn't make sense, everything points out to the fact that her heart is full of darkness, but the Keyblade choose her yet."

"Maybe it was an error," Justin commented, "Sometimes it happens, you know. I admit I tried to manipulate Beth at the second season, but wasn't even near with what Heather did."

Beth frowned, but she agreed with Justin, and wryly remarked, "Yeah, mostly because you're also easily manipulated," and smirked, "by Courtney, for example..." Now, was his turn to frown and complain, "You're getting sly Beth."

"Dudes, we are putting together all our hopes on her," Geoff commented, "We have a big and risky bet on the table. Maybe too much risky..."

"If she doesn't understand her mission," Harold remarked, "Darkness will win, and the entire existence may be screwed."

"Totally screwed..." Geoff added.

Unbeknownst to them, Heather was behind the door, hearing everything. Unwilling to hear more, she walked off, disgruntled, but after some steps away, she stared the floor, crestfallen. She went to the small kitchen of the ship, sat in a chair, staring the Keyblade. Since the first day, she couldn't understand why she was the chosen one; it wasn't in her plans to be partaking in a mission to fight against the darkness. "I fought a bunch of monsters, saved some people, got a new wig" she thought, "But the goat man may be right, I'm not a hero, that's too hard... This thing of saving the world is not for me... Still, I have you, piece of shiny metal. What do you want from me?"

Arriving at Traverse Town, they stepped out the ship. Everyone was smiling at Heather, but she didn't bother with them. Actually, she was more indifferent than usual.

"Yawn... So, where do we go now?"

"Me, Justin and Geoff will wait here," Beth said, with the others nodding, "We need to see where we're going to stay, since we can't go to every world you go."

"Yeah," added Geoff, "We'll buy some stuff, like potions, for you. Donald said there's a shop here."

"I have to organize my notes," Jiminy said, holding the journal, "This will surely be a best-seller when is finished!"

"Okay," Harold agreed, "We must find Scott now."

"There's Rogue," Donald said pointing to the mutant goth, sitting down on a bench, playing Snake on her cellphone, "She may know something."

"Weird goth girl number two..." Heather talked under her breath.

They walked to her, and, before Donald could ask about Scott, she paused the game and started to talk.

"It was about time you've arrived. Professor Xavier asked me to inform he's in the town. You may find him at our training facility after the waterway, in the alley of the Second District."

"Oh, boy," Donald happily said, "Finally, his fame is even known at our world."

"Do you think he may know something about how the Keyblade chooses its master?" Heather asked.

"Why do you want to know this?" asked Harold, adjusting his glasses.

"Do I asked if this is YOUR business?" Harold gulped as Heather glared at him.

"I don't know," Rogue said, crossing her arms, "But don't be rude with him, like you always are. He's a very wise person." Heather only muttered "Hmpf" and turned her nose up.

"So, let's go the second district," Goofy remarked.

And they went to the said location. They had to fight with a bunch of Heartless onto their way, including two new kinds of floating Heartless, Yellow Operas, which attacked with Thunder, and Green Requiems, which healed other Heartless. They fought without much problems, since no Large Body showed up, and they didn't attack in large groups, despite that Heather seemed downcast. She wasn't yelling the usual insults at the enemies or panning her allies when they committed even the lightest mistake. Her technique while battling changed to a preference for slow moves and counterattacks, unlike the usual rapid attacks and the agility of a ballet dancer that was her usual style. She remained silent for the most of the time, her expression was blank. The only thing she seemed to bother was to receive less damage possible.

When they reached the alley, Harold asked, "Heather, is everything all right with you?"

She only glanced back, with a freezing look, and ignored him, again. In fact, she thought, "Now all of you start to care with me?"

"Guys," Harold whispered to Donald and Goofy, "There's something wrong with Heather, I know this."

"Yeah," the duck whispered back, "She's acting more weird than usual..."

They went to the waterway, and she asked, "Here's the waterway, what we do now?"

"I don't know, if we... Whoops," and Harold, while stretching his arms, accidentally pulled a brick that opened the grid.

"Maybe we should go through there," Goofy said.

"That's OBVIOUS!" said Heather, with special emphasis on 'obvious'.

And they walked in. They had to soak their shoes for a while, until they saw a crosswalk, the water kept flowing forward, but, in the left, was a dry aisle.

"Great!" Heather said, folding her arms, "Weird goth girl number two didn't warn us about this..."

"I think..." Goofy tried to say something, but was harshly interrupted by Heather.

"You think what? Who trust you to give ideas?"

"Gawrsh! I..." and he went glum.

"Heather!" Donald tried to reprehend her, "You don't need to talk this way with him."

"Oh, please," she said, rolling her eyes, "I'm pretty sure you do the same thing," and Donald became sad too, with a weight on his conscience. This made him remember from the moments he lost his patience with his friend, like the first time they went to Traverse Town.

"Heather! Could you stop? We're all on the same boat!" Harold shouted. As usual, she ignored him and said, "Let's go by the dry path. I'm sick of being wet." Heather went first, with Harold following, with an upset look. Donald and Goofy also followed, but Donald first apologized to Goofy.

"Sorry Goofy, I see I'm not being nice with you. Please forgive me."

"No problem," he replied, patting his friend's shoulder, "We're friends. I know I'm not the cleverest person of the group..."

"Don't worry," then Donald held his hand on his chest and vowed, "I promise I'll be more patient with you. You have lots of qualities!"

"A-hyuck! Now we have a mission to complete, let's go!"

"Oh boy!" and they caught up with them.

They eventually arrived the training facility. They could see a gym, and a shoot-out gallery, and four doors that probably went to other training rooms. There, they saw Scott, with his battle suit, training his shots. Kitty was next to him, with a notebook, evaluating his performance.

"Hi," she waved to them, "Glad you're coming." Then, she shouted, "Professor, they're here!" and then a door opened and a bald man in wheelchair, wearing a jacket, brown trousers and shoes approached to them.

"Greetings, my name is Charles Xavier."

"Nice to meet you, professor," Donald said, shaking his hands.

"Donald and Goofy, your king contacted me to explain about the Keyblade," he said, holding his hands, "Everything I know is what I could read in Magneto's report, however, as you may already know, it's scattered through the worlds..."

"Then, how can you say that know something about the giant key?" Heather harshly asked.

Without losing his expression, prof. Xavier answered, "The Keyblade can be used as weapon, or did you find any other use for it, Heather?"

"Well," she replied, "When I saw a keyhole in two worlds I went, the Keyblade emitted a beam that 'locked' something..."

"I see... According to I know by the Magneto's report, every world among the stars has a Keyhole. And each one leads to the heart of that world. There must be one in this town as well."

"Huh?"

"The Heartless enter through the Keyhole and do something to the world's core."

"And so?"

"In the end, it disappears."

"What?" Harold, Donald Goofy said at same time.

"I'd hate to be there in that hour." Heather commented, uninterested.

"That's why your key is so important," said Scott, after finishing the last target, "When you lock the world, you prevent her downfall."

"Please lock the keyholes. You're the only one who can." Kitty politely beseeched.

"It's not simpler if we ask this Magneto-guy about everything?" Heather asked.

Scott and Kitty looked down, and Xavier explained, "Heather, Harold, Donald and Goofy, I must tell you the history of our world. In the world we used to live, there was two kind of humans: the normals, with only their intellect and strength and the other type, which due a genetic mutation, they were born with extraordinary gifts."

"You mean, the reason why Scott can shoot lasers from the eyes?" Harold asked.

"Exactly," Scott answered, "If I don't use special glasses, I'll shoot beams every time I open my eyes."

"And I," said Kitty, "I can pass through solid objects like air. Evan, Kurt, Rogue are mutants too."

"Cool." Harold said, impressed.

"Believe me, boy," he looked down, "It's not cool..."

"Yeah," Kitty agreed, "I was so afraid when I discovered my powers, but professor Xavier and the X-Men helped me to overcome this."

"X-Men?" Harold asked, tapping his chin.

"Yeah, that's how we call our team," Kitty explained, "Prof. Xavier built this facility here to help us control and develop our powers, or else they start to go out of control..."

"We were called mutants by the normals," Xavier resumed his account, "There was lot of prejudice against us. A conflict emerged between us and them. There was two approaches available: the one advanced by me tried a pacific coexistence approach, but the one offered by Magneto was to think themselves as a superior race, and that they must dominate the non-mutants. Sometimes we hadn't only to defend ourselves from the humans, but also to defend them from Magneto's forces."

"So, this Magneto is evil?" Goofy asked.

"To tell the truth, he was a friend of mine," Xavier sighed, "Everyone was very confused and afraid at that time, and Magneto developed a deep hatred of the normal humans. The skirmishes between the three sides stopped for a while after we fought a terrible battle with a mutant called Apocalypse. After some time, Magneto started his research on the subject of the heart. When he started, he was eager to deepen his research and even asked my help. He said he wanted to forget our differences, ignore the humans for some time, and keep the research, saying the research would help the mutant race."

"Didn't you distrust of anything?" asked Heather.

"In the beginning I was interested, I had the opportunity to read some reports, but then I noticed that all of his old allies started to abandon him, only one keep helping him. That meant something went wrong."

Everyone was hearing him very interested, even Heather. Being a very intelligent person, Prof. Xavier was also a good storyteller. He stopped for a while when he said that something went wrong, unhappily looked to the floor, like he was remembering of something bad, and continued.

"I was feeling dark energy coming out from his base of operations. This time I had the opportunity to meet King Mickey. I could see he was a wise ruler, and we chatted for hours about many issues, including Magneto's research. The King guaranteed me that, after meeting with him, Magneto decided to stop his research after discovering that the heart of our world suffered major... interference..."

"And what happened?" Donald asked.

"After your king departed from our world, the dark energy didn't leave his base. I decided to organize the X-Men into an investigative mission, but, before I could send them, our world was invaded by the Heartless, and we have to flee, bringing everyone we could take, mutant and non-mutants."

Silence was made for few moments. Heather decided to break off the silence and asked, "Enough with history class. Why don't you tell me why I'm the chosen one?"

"Sorry Heather," Xavier answered, "I don't have an answer to this question."

"Hmpf. That's it! I need to rest," and she left, angry. Harold, Donald and Goofy tried to follow her, but she cried, without turning around, "ALONE!" Scott and Kitty shook their heads.

"So, she's the Keybearer?" Xavier commented, putting his hands on his head, "I can feel a great deal of anguish inside her. She's not usually a nice person, right?" The others nodded. "You must help her. Even though she has a problematic past, you shouldn't talk about it behind her back." Harold, Donald and Goofy remembered of the talk in the gummi ship and they got ashamed.

"So, she heard everything, huh?" said Donald, scratching his head.

"Probably not everything," added Goofy.

"Normally, she wouldn't pay attention to," Harold commented, "However, she's so haughty... Anyway, it's better let her rest and, when she calm down, we apologize and explain everything." Goofy and Donald nodded.

"Hmm, professor Xavier," Donald said.

"Yes, Donald?"

"We've found these gummi blocks, they are different from everything we know," and the duck showed him the gummi blocks they found at Nowhere and Amazonian Plateau.

"Hmm," Xavier stared, interested, "This is a special gummi, indeed." He, then, picked his cellphone and called someone. After a small talk, Xavier turned his cellphone down and said, "In this town, there's an engineer who can help. He'll examine and install the gummi at your ship. He's waiting at Accessory Shop."

"Okay, let's go. I'm pleased to meet you, prof. Xavier," Harold said, shaking his hands.

"Likewise," he replied, "Keep moving at your journey."

"Me too," said Scott. He reached his pocket and picked a gem, and handed over to Harold, "Take this with you. This stone holds some mysterious power. I've been carrying it for luck. I want you to hold onto it."

"But," said Harold, receiving the blue and red gem, looking mindfully at the shiny ball, "How do you use it?"

"It's just a charm. But I think there's something special with this."

"As a final word," Kitty said, "We'll help your friends you're finding at your journey to find a house here."

"How do you know this?" asked Goofy.

She chuckled and replied, "We're watching Total Drama Worlds too. Yesterday premiered the first episode on Amazonian Plateau."

"Thanks, Kitty," said Donald, and sighed in relief, and grinned, "Thank God we don't need to leave them everywhere we go."

Meanwhile, Heather was outside, at the alley, grumbling very angry, "Stupid bald man! 'I don't have an answer', what a jerk, and he calls himself a professor! I don't need him, neither Harold, nor Donald and Goofy. When did I need them? And," he looked at the Keyblade, "I'm sure I don't want you!" and hurled it at some boxes, only to find the blade again at her hands. "GO AWAY!" she cried and threw it away again, slicing a lamp post that stood in the way, but, again, it returned to her hands. "GRAAAA!!! Leave me alone!" she shouted, then she stumbled in a box and fell down heavily on the ground. When she was on the ground, still holding the Keyblade, she mumbled, almost weeping, "I don't want to play this stupid game anymore! I wanna go home."

"DOOONG!" the bell rang. Suddenly, Kitty appeared next to her. "Get up, Heather!" Heather looked up, with a angry face, saying, "What do you want now?"

Without bothering, she said, "Professor Xavier reviewed his reports and discovered that if you check the bell at Gizmo Shop you'll find your fate. That bell is very mysterious and many tales talk about its mystical powers."

Still on he ground, she held her head with his hand and asked, apathetic, "And why on earth I should follow his advice?"

"Aren't you looking for answers? C'mon, give a try."

"Fine," and she got up and went to Gizmo Shop. After she left, Kitty grinned evilly and transformed into Mystique, "Too easy! Soon she'll learn her fate," and with a maniacal laughter, she cloaked herself in the shadows.


	14. Dark Illusion, pt 2

**A.N.:** This chapter is longer because of the plot line, I didn't want to split. R&R, plz.

* * *

"Garwsh! You were right, Harold," Goofy commented, "We do must wait Heather calm down!"

When they arrived at the alley, destruction was everywhere. Smashed boxes, broken vases, a half of a lamp post trespassing a window of the hotel.

"That was Heather's rampage," Donald remarked, "Luckily nobody was here..."

"I wonder where she is now." Goofy added.

Heather was at the plaza of the second district, fighting against Soldiers and various types of flying magic Heartless. She was trying to go to Gizmo Shop, but the Heartless were in her way.

"Back off!" Heather said, as she slashed a Yellow Opera in the air, "I don't have time," she sent a Soldier flying away, "For your stupid," she cast fire at a Blue Rhapsody, "delay!" She went to the up way, and more Shadows appeared. They attacked in groups, scratching her a little, but she managed to defeat all. "Gasp... Gasp... These things are really starting to annoy me. Better use this." She pointed the Keyblade to the sky and cast Cure on herself. Her wig became light green, and magic leaves appeared over her head, releasing a healing power flow. Her health was restored now.

"It's my impression, or more creatures are showing up only because I'm going to the shop..." she thought. She fought more three Red Nocturnes, abusing of Blizzard, and entered at Gizmo Shop. While she was going in, Harold, Donald and Goofy arrived at the plaza of the second district.

"I'm kinda hungry now," said Goofy, with his belly snoring.

"Me too," Donald agreed, "Let's buy something at the Accessory Shop."

"Yeah, maybe we should get something for Heather too, like chocolate," Harold suggested, "Chocolate may help her to calm the nerves."

"Hmm, strange," commented Goofy, "This place should be full of Heartless."

"Maybe they're on dinner time too," Harold said, joking. They couldn't guess that the Heartless were concentrating their attacks on Heather, she, indeed, was their dinner. She was in the Gizmo Shop, once one of the fanciest buildings in Traverse Town, dealing with a new type of enemy, the Air Soldiers.

"Ouch!" she moaned as she received a kick at her back. She quickly turned around and hit the Air Soldier with the side of the Keyblade. At that time, another Air Soldier scratched her shoulder. She gritted her teeth, made a sore look, and started to attack with all strength she could get together. When she defeated all enemies, a Large Body, escorted by two Red Nocturnes, two Blue Rhapsodies and a Green Requiem showed up.

"Aw... That's... not... fair..."

Arriving at the first district, they went to the Accessory Shop. There, Kurt and Evan were arguing about something.

"I say it's your turn now to do something," said Evan, holding a comic book, inside a plastic sack, "And it's much easier for you, since you can simply teleport!" The sack was so opaque that nothing could be seen, neither the cover.

"No way!" replied Kurt, "It's not my turn! You can't force me!"

"Guys!" Harold intervened, "What's going on?"

"Kurt must deliver this special comic book at the third district. I have a hard time keeping it up, and now he doesn't want to do me this single favor." Evan complained, glancing at Kurt, who crossed his arms, frowning.

"This is an easy thing, I'm sure we can handle it, right?" Harold said and Donald and Goofy agreed.

"Sure? Oh, Thanks, man," and Evan handed the comic book. "Go to the farthest part of the district, you'll find the owner there."

"Excuse me," someone nudged Harold. When he turned, it was a short boy, 11-years old at best, wearing a white lab coat, purple gloves, black boots, and he had short red hair and thick circular glasses, "Did Professor Xavier send you?"

"Umm... Yeah?" he replied, uncertain.

"Good, my name is Dexter, and I am the gummi ship engineer he talked about."

"Wa..." Donald was open-mouthed and Goofy was scratching his head.

"Bu-but, you're only a kind. A tiny kid." Harold said, he couldn't believe that Professor Xavier actually called a kid t help them.

"In fact, I'm a kid, but I'm really sure I know much more about quantum physics than you will know in your entire life."

"Hey, I know something about quantum physics!" Harold said, turning his nose up.

"Hmm, do you know that inside a black hole you became tinier than an atom?"

"Of course!"

"But don't you know that if you travel with an anti-matter gravity neutralizer at least in 0.7 parsecs you can actually break off the gravitational field of a black hole?"

"Aaa..." Harold raised his finger to answer, but he gave up, "Okay, you got me..."

"Please, I was building gummi ships before you conclude the third grade," Dexter said, lifting his arms and walking away, and then he stretched his hand, "Now lemme see the gummis."

Donald handed the gummis and Dexter looked at them, tapping curiously his chin, "Hmm, a navigation gummi block. How interesting..."

"What's a navigation gummi for?" Goofy asked.

"Are you kidding me?" Dexter said, "You're flying a gummi ship and don't know anything about navigation gummis? That's something I'd expect from my stupid sister Dee Dee, but not from you."

"Ow, come on!" said Harold, indignant, "There's a lot we don't know. Donald only pilots the gummi ship, we didn't build it! I'm sorry if we are no genius..."

"Okay, I didn't know. No hard feelings, all right? Well, I guess I could lend you a hand."

"Thanks..." said Harold, with his arms crossed.

"Basically, with navigation gummis, you can go to new places. You want one on your ship, right?" Dexter said, waving the gummi, with Donald and Goofy nodding, "I'll install it for you. This shouldn't be hard and, if my stupid sister doesn't disturb me, it'll be ready in no time."

"Thanks," said Goofy, "Now, let's go to the third district."

"Before going," Harold intervened, "I'd like to ask if you put an additional cannon at the ship."

"Why do you want an additional cannon?" Donald asked, suspicious.

"I want to shoot enemy ships too," Harold answered, grinning, "If you don't mind..."

Donald sighed and said, "Fine, install the cannon, please."

"No problem," Dexter replied.

They exited the Accessory Shop, and met Beth, holding some bags loaded of potions, ethers and elixirs.

"Hi, Beth!" waved Donald, "So you've ressuplied our stock, thanks for that!"

"You're welcome. The guys from Item Shop are a little strange, but they did their job."

"Is Heather with you?" Harold asked.

"No, no, she didn't show up yet."

"Hmm, let's ask Jiminy," and they went to the gummi ship.

"No, she didn't come here," said Jiminy, putting his journal in his pocket, "But now I'll go with you," and he went to Donald's pocket, the placed he usually stays.

"That's odd," commented Harold, "Where's she? If she's not in the gummi ship, wherever she could be?"

"Don't worry, I'm sure, she's not in any trouble." Donald said, carefree.

But that wasn't the truth. Heather still was battling the Heartless at Gizmo Shop. "Urgh!" she moaned as she slammed the wall, after receiving a punch from the Large Body. "Remember," she thought, recovering and avoiding another attack, "Always eliminate the green flying-one first."

She cast Cure on herself again and continued attacking them. This time, she concentrate all her forces at the Green Requiem, since it was using its powers to heal the enemies, this really was a pain in the neck. After an aerial combo, the enemy was downed and she defeated it. Then she cast Blizzard at the last Red Nocturne. Now, with all flying enemies eliminated, she attacked the Large Body. She cast Thunder to startle it and moved around to attack its back. With a combo, she knocked the enemy and kept stabbing, until it turned around and shoved Heather away, with its hands. Heather used Fire twice and defeated the enemy.

"Finally, I think they were the last ones," she said, but had to regret saying this, because more Soldiers were blocking the exit door. She just growled.

"Grrr... Why they show up in the worst hour?" and two Soldiers dashed at her at the same time.

Meanwhile, at the third district, Harold, Goofy and Donald were in front of a mysterious door. There was a fire sign at it, no keyhole or knob.

"Here, the farthest part of the district," Harold said, "But there's only this weird door..."

"I wonder how we can open..." Goofy said.

"Wait, I have an idea," Harold snapped his fingers, "I saw something like this in various games I played. When there's something like a fire sign, means we need to use a fire attack to open the door, and so with other elements. Donald, why don't you try?"

"Okay," and he readied himself. He pointed his staff to the door and said "Fire". The fireball was launched and hit the door. The door was engulfed in flames and opened. "Oh, boy, now let's go!"

As they went through, Heather was finally leaving the Gizmo Shop. She was getting tired and angry of facing alone so many enemies in a row. "Cursed Heartless..." she climbed the ladder to go to the balcony, and found more Heartless; Red Nocturnes, Blue Rhapsodies, Yellow Operas and Green Requiems, all swarming at her. "I... hate... my... job..."

Harold, Donald and Goofy went to an open area that had only a house. It looked like an abandoned house, with light purple walls and a roof that resembled a pointed red hat. They crossed the bridge and went inside by a gap at the right side of the house. It was, dark, empty and covered with dust. Harold sneezed and complained that wasn't good for his allergies. After checking out, they were about to leave, when they heard a voice.

"Well, well," the voice, that seemed to belong to an old man, said, "You've arrived sooner than I expected."

"Huh? Who's there?" Goofy cried.

Then, the man entered, revealing himself, an old man with long beard, a blue robe and a blue pointed hat, holding a red bag.

"Who are you?" Harold asked.

"Are you a Heartless?" Donald queried.

"Oh, my, no. My name is Merlin. As you can see, I am a sorcerer. I spend much of my time traveling. It's good to be home. Your king has requested my help."

"King Mickey?" Goofy said, surprised.

"Yes, indeed. Donald, Goofy. And who might you be, young man?" the man asked, looking to Harold.

"I'm Harold."

"Ah. So, you have found the key."

"Actually no," Harold replied, "They key is with Heather."

"Oh, so it's a girl... And where's she?"

"She's resting. She is not in a good mood..."

Merlin rubbed his chin and said, "I see... When she wakes up, please say her to come here."

"But," Donald asked, raising his arm, "What did the king ask you to do?"

"Just a moment," and he went to middle of the room and opened his bag. Lots of kitchen appliances, furniture and other things came out the little bag and started to hover. All the stuff started to do some kind of dance in the air and, with his wand, Merlin shouted "Presto!" and, at a wink, everything were assembled at their respective places. The dust had disappeared, the torches were alighted and the house was now pretty organized. The guys were amazed with Merlin's powers, but, before they could ask more things, Merlin started to explain.

"There, now," he cleared his throat and started to talk, "Your king asked me to train the keybearer in the art of magic. We can start anytime. Let me know when she's ready to begin the training. As you know, the Keyblade is not only a physical weapon, but also a magical one. Oh, and one more thing," and he pointed to a small carriage, that remind them a pumpkin. Blue magic dust showed up and the small carriage transformed into an old woman, that was wearing a light-blue robe like Merlin, and a hood.

"Hello. I'm the Fairy Godmother. Your king asked me to help, too. I will assist throughout your journey."

"I do not know how much we can be of help, but do stop by anytime." Merlin completed.

"By the way," the Fairy Godmother said, "Do you know this young lady? Sadie, come here!"

Pink magic dust showed up, like the blue one from the Fairy Godmother, and, in a glance, Sadie, the same Sadie they knew, popped up. She was wearing a blue poncho over her typical striped top and pink shorts, and a blue pointed hat, but her pigtails were still visible, and holding a wand, like the other two magicians. She looked sad and upset, mainly because she wasn't with Katie and, due to her inexperience, she inverted her legs and arms.

"Sadie, you did again," the Fairy Godmother said, facepalming.

"Sorry, ma'am," and the Fairy Godmother poked her wand on her and she returned to normal.

"At least wasn't like the last time, when you turned yourself into a fridge. You're improving."

"Sadie, is that you?" Harold asked, "Where's Katie?" she put her hands on her face and started to cry. Then, Fairy Godmother explained the situation.

"Merlin and I found her adrift, in a desert world. She was lost and hungry, thus I allowed her to come with us. Also, she couldn't stop to cry and mutter about someone named Katie, so I decided to train her in magic as a way of distracting her. After that, she only cries when someone says her friend's name."

When looking at her, the group couldn't feel anything but pity.

"Look, Sadie," Harold tried to calm her down, "We're finding everyone from our world during our journeys."

She stopped to cry and said, "Really?"

"We've found Beth, Justin, Tyler, but he's not here, and Geoff," said Harold, counting his fingers, "Now we found you. I think it's just a matter of time until we find Katie, right guys?"

"Yeah," Donald said, "You can count on us."

"Serious?" she asked, barely believing.

"A-hyuck," Goofy nodded.

She seemed relieved after that, "Okay, there's hope yet. So, where's everyone?"

"Heather is resting, and the others are next to our ship." Harold said.

"Heather? But she's..."

"I know, we explain everything later." Then Harold reached his pocket and showed the gem to the Fairy Godmother, "By the way, do you know what is this?"

"Oh," she looked surprised, "the poor thing! He has turned into a summon gem."

"A summon gem," the three asked at the same time.

"This little creature lived in a world that was consumed by darkness. When a world vanishes, so do its inhabitants. But this one had such a strong heart, he became a gem instead of vanishing with his world."

"Can he regain himself?" Harold asked.

"Yes, but only his spirit. Now, watch!" she started to wave her wand in the air and said the magic words, "Bibbity Bobbity boo!"

"Whenever you call, he will help you," she touched again her wand and the gem started to glow. After the flash faded out, the creature showed up. It was a red and blue bird, with a pointed beak, red topknot and green eyes.

"Hey, what happened?" the bird asked, he was a little confused, "Where I am? Who are you?"

"Calm down, easy," said Donald.

"Ow... I only remember being on my house, when the sky darkened, and... What happened?"

"I'm sorry," the Fairy Godmother said, "But your world was destroyed, and it's seems you were the only one who survived."

The bird saddened, and put his hands on his head, "No, this can't be happening..."

"Look, my world was destroyed too," Harold said, trying to cheer him up, "But we can do something."

"Yeah," Donald agreed, "If we work together, we can restore your world."

"If this is the case," the bird turned to a combative instance, "The services of Woody Woodpecker are at your hand," he started to glow and returning to the gem, "Call me anytime to help!"

"They barely have idea of what's going on, the Heartless are so unforgiving... If you find any more of these, bring them to me. Don't worry, when their worlds are restored they will return there. Please help save them."

"Okay, we will." Harold said.

After saying good-bye, they walked back to the third district, with Sadie accompanying them. With a last advice, Merlin said to them to see Professor Xavier, saying he must be at the third district.

"It's good to know that they are safe," Sadie commented, and sighed, "I just wonder if Katie is safe..."

"Yeah," Harold agreed, "I just want to know if LeShawna is safe too. But in this town, the Heartless doesn't go to the first district and the X-Men are protecting the citizens."

"Who?"

"You'll meet them. It's good to know that everyone is safe."

Everyone, minus Heather. She just had defeated the last enemy at the balcony. "Die! Die!" even after the enemy dissolute itself to the darkness, she was hitting the floor. After making a small hole, she stopped.

"Gasp... Now what?"

Then, she saw a paper on the floor, with a message. She picked it and read, 'To reveal your fate, pull the bell three times'.

"Okay," she thought, shrugging. There were some wooden boards blocking the way to the bell. Heather broke them with the Keyblade, with some effort, and entered there.

"Gawrsh! Look!" in the third district, Goofy yelled, pointing to two Soldiers going at their direction. They readied their weapons and Sadie hid behind them.

"Ohmigosh, what are them?" Sadie asked, completely scared.

"They are the Heartless, our primary enemy!" said Harold, swinging his nunchakus.

"They're destroying the worlds!" completed Goofy.

Before the enemy could have an attack opportunity, they were struck and defeated, disappearing like dust. They couldn't believe their eyes when they looked at the responsible for this.

"L-l-leShawna?" Harold said, taking his glasses and rubbing his eyes.

"There you are. What's going on, sugar?" she asked, smiling to them. She was the same LeShawna, they knew; same oranges in the shirt, same jeans, same ponytail. The only difference was that she was wielding a sword. The sword reminded a sharp dragon wing, black and red, with a weird blue crystal that resembled an eye in the hold. "Hi, Sadie!" she waved her.

"Hi!" she waved back.

Then, Harold hugged her tightly, "I cannot believe, LeShawna, you're okay. I was so afraid that something bad happened to you..."

"Okay, Harold, I'm happy to see you too," she patted his shoulder and continued talking, "Now can you let me go?"

Harold was still swooning, "This is not a dream, right?"

"I hope not," she replied, "Took forever to find you."

"You didn't find anyone yet?"

"No. Who did you find?"

"Well, counting me and Sadie, Beth, Geoff, Justin, and also Heather is with our group."

"Heather? The skinny white girl," she chuckled and continued, "I bet she hadn't change anything."

"So so... are you watching the show?"

"Huh? What show? It doesn't have TVs where I am."

"DOOONG!!!" the bell rang three times, consecutively.

"Why the bell is ringing?" Goofy wondered.

"I don't know," Donald replied, "Maybe it's normal..."

"Never mind." Harold replied to LeShawna, "The point is that we visited many places looking for you."

"Really? Well, what do you know? I never would have guessed."

"Oh, and guess what?" Goofy said, "Heather's the Keyblade master. She's helping to restore the worlds."

"Who would've thought it?" Donald sarcastically commented.

"So, if she's gonna save the day, why aren't you crying in despair?" LeShawna joked.

"You know, to tell the truth, she's not doing am awful job," Harold remarked.

LeShawna raised an eyebrow and asked, "And where's she now?"

"Don't worry, she's alright. Okay, so, you're coming with us, right? We've got an awesome rocket. Wait 'til you see it!" Harold happily uttered.

"No, she can't come!" Donald replied, crossing his arms.

"What?"

Donald cried, "The royal gummi ship ain't school bus for lazy teenagers!"

"Oh, come on!"

"We have too much trouble enduring that witch and we have to find all your friends, so forget!"

"Guys," Goofy interrupted, "She's gone."

"What?" Harold said, looking everywhere, "Oh, well... At least, she's fine. Our journey can only get better now."

"Yeah, let's think positively," Donald commented.

"Donald, it's really that hard to get a new place for her in the ship," Harold asked, "She even knows to fight, did you remember?."

"Harold, the gummi ship has space only for ten passengers, at best," Donald said, and frowning, "And I'm no teen babysitter!"

"Sighs... I guess I can't convince you..."

"Hey," they saw Scott, waving to them in the upper part of the district, "Come here!"

"Let's follow Scott." Goofy suggested.

The X-Men were in the house, all of them, even Kurt and Evan.

"Hmm," Harold asked, "If you are here, who's charge of the shop?"

"We asked Space Ghost to take care for us for a while," Evan answered.

--

Space Ghost was in the desk, negotiating with a man about his new undertaking at pisciculture.

"These fish are called Magikarps! They can lay down one thousand eggs! If you breed them and sell for ten bucks, you'll be in no time the richest person in the town," the man was the Magikarp salesman, showing the pamphlets.

"But that's not much expensive?" Space Ghost asked, still skeptical.

"No, no, no. I'm doing a special promotion. You can buy the kit for breeding Magikarps, the five-year food stock, the iron vivarium, the water purifier, and, if you buy twenty Magikarps, the next one is free! Only for 40000 munny. It's my last offer!"

"Everyone will be proud of me," the masked salesman thought and cried, "I'll buy everything you put on the desk plus forty Magikarps! I must think BIG! And I guess that Kurt and Evan wouldn't mind if I borrow some munny," and Space Ghost melted the door of their safe with his heat-ray and picked 30000 munny.

"Excellent," the Magikarp salesman smirked.

--

"The reason I asked Scott to call you is that I felt Maleficent's presence in the town," Professor Xavier said, with a concerned voice.

"Gawrsh! Who's she?" asked Goofy.

"A witch! An evil witch!" Kurt answered.

"She's the reason this town is full of Heartless, and so the worlds. Don't take her lightly." Scott added.

"She's been using the Heartless for years," completed Kitty.

"We lost our world, thanks to her." Scott said, holding his arm.

"Yeah," Evan agreed, "One day, a swarm of Heartless took over our world!"

"That was five years ago... I couldn't save her..." Scott added, with a sad expression.

"Scott, you can't blame yourself forever," Rogue tried to comfort him, patting his shoulder, "She knew what she was doing..."

"We had to escape, gathering everyone we could, mutants and non-mutants," Xavier commented, "It's a pity that's the only situation that we, mutants and non-mutants, could help each other was when our world was taken over..."

"That's awful!" Donald remarked.

"I guess that happened too much things when I was out," Sadie remarked to herself, under her breath.

"Don't worry, you can ask Jiminy," Goofy whispered to her, "He's our chronogram."

"Chronicler, Goofy," Donald calmly amended him.

"It's better you watch out," Xavier advised, "Maleficent is full of tricks! The report said something about how we could defeat the Heartless, but the majority of its pages should be with her now..." then he felt a sudden headache, taking his hands to the head.

"What's happening, Professor?" Donald asked.

"I'm feeling that Heather is in serious danger!" and everyone gasped.

While they were talking with LeShawna and the X-Men, Heather, after pulling the rope that made the bell rang, went to the fountain. The ringing of the bell revealed the keyhole of Traverse Town. Heather proceed there without much problems; she was even surprised, "No Heartless, strange, huh?" she talked to herself.

When she approached the keyhole, she saw something. Two arms with sharp claws, two heavy boots, a torso and a helmet. The purple Heartless knight, the Guard Armor has returned.

"Ha! They really must be kidding me," she angrily cried, "I'll defeat you, alone this time!"

She leapt and delivered some slashes, but the creature wasn't using all its power. It only attacked kicking and scratching, but without much force. Heather didn't bother with and kept attacking. At one point, after receiving a hit, the armor fell apart on the ground.

"Easy... perhaps I have to fight with my bare hands to make things even..."

Then, the pieces of the armor started to shake all over. It got up, floating. Then, the arms and the feet changed their places and the visor of the helmet open up, revealing its glowing yellow eyes. The enemy wasn't the Guard Armor anymore: it was the Opposite Armor.

"Ahm... That shouldn't be relevant," she said to herself, confident. But the reality wasn't that. Heather used the Sonic Blade, but the arms easily floated away from the attack.

"Whoops... That was just a mistake..."

The creature launched its right foot against her, but she dodge, only to be hit by the left claw. Then, the left foot was launched, stomping her. She moaned, but managed to get up. She pointed the Keyblade at the enemy and said "Fire", but nothing happened. She said "Cure", but nothing happened.

"Oh, no... This can't be good..." she said, swinging and tapping the Keyblade. In fact, her magic power was depleted, and she didn't have noticed. The creature, then, made its pieces pull together and started to spin fast. The attack hit her at full speed, sending her away. She fell and tried to get up, but the creature disconnected from its pieces and lifted to a horizontal position, and started to shoot pink energy balls at her. She tried to roll over, but the last three ones connected and she receive a great deal of damage.

At that moment, Prof. Xavier felt the headache. He ordered, "Harold, Donald, Goofy, quick! Go to the second district, there's something happening there!"

"Okay, sir," said Goofy, but when he opened the door, he saw that the house was surrounded by a large group of Shadows, Soldiers, Air Soldiers. "We're surrounded!" Harold cried.

"Don't be concerned!" so, he put his hands on his head and launched an invisible blast of psychic energy that cleared the way to the door to the second district. "We can fend them off. Go help Heather!"

"Roger!" they said.

Meanwhile, Heather was getting the worst beating of her life. The battle against all that Heartless early consumed the major part of her health and all her magic, she didn't have forces to fight it alone. When she got up, the enemy hastily attacked with its arms or feet, making her kiss the floor again. She was starting to cough a little of blood. She tried to get up again, but was again beaten by the creature. When she was on the floor, in fetal position, she could see the creature moving its right arm like a drill, preparing for the final blow.

"Third time I'm almost dying... they always says that after the third time it's when it works..." she thought and closed her eyes. Her end was nigh.

--

"Chef, I think we have a situation," said Chris, biting his fingernails as he watched the fateful battle. They were at an unknown location.

"What?"

"If Heather dies, that means the Keyblade will look for another master, at the best scenario."

"And?"

"We don't have the rights to film another keybearer, only from Heather."

"Yeah, that's no good. At least we can be accepted as refugees, right?"

"But we're going to get REAL jobs, like clerks or mechanics! AAAAAHHHHHHH!" and Chris sank into despair as images of him attending obnoxious customer at drive-thru and repairing greased engines came to his mind.

Chef shrugged and said, "Well, that's not a problem for me..."

--

The creature unleashed the drill punch; it was now a matter of seconds. There, Heather heard a voice: "Don't give up!"

She quickly opened her eyes, gasped and said, "Izzy?" In that hour, the creature, which was about to hit Heather, didn't hit her, only an invisible barrier. The arm of the creature crashed into a wall, doing a hole due to the impact. Then, Heather saw two fireballs, and one was twice bigger than the other, hitting the middle of the torso. Suddenly, Goofy and Harold jumped at the enemy attacking with everything they got. "Goofy? Harold?" she muttered.

Donald also showed up and helped Heather leave the battlefield to an alley, where the Opposite Armor couldn't attack her. "Donald," she gasped.

"You're too weak to fight, stay here!" and the duck let a potion next to her and returned to attack the enemy. Heather didn't answer anything, only stared at them.

Next to the fountain, the battle roared. The Opposite Armor, after being struck by them, didn't show any signal of flinch.

"Ohmigosh!" Sadie whined, holding tightly her wand, "My first real battle has to be against an enormous monster..." and she aimed her wand at the enemy, casting Fira. It worked. "Yipe! I finally got it!" she lifted her arms in joy, but this made her wand fire at a nearby house, letting a massive gap at its wall, "Whoops... I talked too early..."

Donald cast Thunder, which hit all its members, causing even damage to the enemy, while Harold was hitting hard the right foot, and Goofy was using his tornado technique to hit both arms.

The creature pulled together its pieces again and started to spin one more time, but they went behind Sadie and she said "Reflect" and made an invisible barrier appear around them, protecting them from any hit. Harold and Goofy resumed their attack, and so Donald, but he advised Sadie before, "Sadie, if you have the same magic power than the Fairy Godmother, try to call Woody."

"Okay," then Donald whistled to Harold, to hand the gem. Sadie pointed her wand to it and the gem started to glow and summoned Woody Woodpecker.

"I'm here, time for the show," and he flew over the enemy, pecking all the pieces of armor, like a stone crusher, while laughing, "HE-EE-HEE HE-EE-HEE HEHEHEHEEHE." He helped them to destroy a feet and badly damaging the other parts, before returning to the gem. Harold attacked swinging his nunchakus at the left arm, destroying it, while Donald cast Blizzard at the other arm. Goofy was attacking the torso with his tornado. Whenever someone fell to the ground, Sadie quickly cast Cure and restored his health, they couldn't take risks. After some time, only the torso and helmet remained. The torso was desperately shooting energy balls at them. It didn't aim well, so they avoided most of the hits.

"He's trying to escape," Harold cried as the enemy gained altitude. Suddenly, they saw the Keyblade flying to the enemy, thrusting the helmet. The enemy fell on the ground, with its helmet shaking and exploding. Then, a heart came out and the enemy disappeared. The battle was over.

"See, how do you need of me?" said Heather, limping, and with her languid look, "I can say only one thing about all this mess," they looked worried, afraid that Heather would hadn't learn her lesson, but she slightly smiled, "Thank you."

At that time, the keyhole and the Keyblade started to glow, and the Keyblade connect with the Keyhole, through the light beam. They heard the click and now they were sure that Traverse Town was free from the armored menace forever. Also, a gummi block went out the keyhole, which Donald picked up.

Heather trembled and kneeled to the ground. They approached her, seeing if is everything alright.

"Stubborn as ever," commented Harold.

"Hmpf. I like things in my way," she replied, "Now gimme other potion!"

"Yeah, she's really returning to full health," Goofy remarked.

"Seems you did it," Professor Xavier showed up, along with the X-Men.

"Yeah, we were worried," Kitty commented.

"It's you!" Heather got up and angrily attacked her, but she missed her intangible body.

"Hey, what's going on?" ignoring her attacks.

"It was you who put me on this trap!" she replied, still unfruitful trying to hit her.

"Wait, I don't remember talking with you."

"Calm down, Heather," Xavier interfered, using his psychic powers to immobilize Heather, "It's obvious that Kitty had nothing to do with this."

"But I see her, she said to me to go the bell!" she replied, vexed.

"You don't lie, but I know the only person that could do this - Mystique."

"Who?"

"She's an enemy of us," Scott explained, "She can shapeshift herself into anyone. She must be the Kitty you've found and deceived you."

"Damn, so I can't trust anyone," Heather complained.

"Well, we helped you, Heather," protested Donald.

"Oh, come on!" she crossed her arms and continued, "You know what I'm talking about..."

"Oh, you didn't understand, you didn't hear 'till the end." Heather raised her eyebrow. In that time, Chris's ship appeared. "CONGRATULATIONS!"

Harold went next to Kurt and whispered something to him, to which he nodded, grinning. Kurt teleported inside the ship.

Inside there, he made a cheesy grin and said, "Everyone is waiting for you over there!" and he touched Chris' shoulder, teleporting him to them.

Downside, Harold ordered to Chris, "Chris, show the entire scene!"

"But we didn't edit the footage, and..." Harold, Donald and Goofy glared at him, and he conceded, "Okay, okay... Chef, land the Nakombi!"

"Nakombi?" Harold rhetorically asked.

"Yeah, that's the name..." Chef did as said and brought a stand with a TV and a DVD-player. "Here is! But this should premier only in two weeks..."

In the screen, they showed the scene, after Heather went away, and Geoff said 'totally screwed'.

"Still, I think there's hope," Beth said, "I remember when she protected me and Courage from that big Heartless. I don't know, but the Keyblade may change her."

"A-hyuck! Like the King always says, there's always a light at the end of the tunnel," Goofy said, "There must be light at her heart, and that light is what guided the Keyblade to her."

"Once I talked to her and she said she doesn't like to be evil all time," Harold commented, "Maybe we should help her, in spite of everything."

"Yeah," Geoff added, "We need to help her. Didn't LeShawna become her friend last season?"

"My sweet LeShawna is a girl of pure heart," Harold swooned, holding together his hands, "She could see her light, so must we!"

"We can't give up now!" Donald completed, "The King doesn't send us on missions that we can't complete!" Justin didn't say anything but nodded to them.

"So, you really trust me?" Heather asked, barely believing.

"C'mon, Heather! You are the Keyblade master, and doesn't matter why the Keyblade chose you," Harold said.

"Yeah, I'm sure it'll be revealed in the right time," Goofy added.

"Happy now?" Chris said, frowning. "Anyway, here's the prize of the week. For defeating Opposite Armor and sealing Traverse Town, you'll win this," and he handed over a light-blue gem, almost white, to her. "This will teach you Aero, you can use for protection." Like the other gems, this one was also assimilated by Heather's wig, after becoming a light-blue powder.

"Frankly, Chris, what are you doing?" Heather asked, distrustful.

"Oh, c'mon... What would be of Mario without Lakitu? Stay tuned for more TOTAL... DRAMA... WORLDS!" and Chris and Chef entered the ship and left the world.

"Now, he went away, I just wanna rest," Heather complained and ordered, "Reserve me the most luxurious hotel room. Now that the freaks Heartless are gone, the hotel must be fine. After all, I deserve, right?"

"So, Heather, you don't have anything more to say?" Harold asked.

"Okay, thank you Harold, Donald, Goofy and Sadie for helping me staying alive, thanks Xavier and the X-Men. Happy? And I'll try to take easy on the insults,"

"We are a team, Heather!" Harold said and they showed their hands to her.

"Right!" she answered, also showing her hand, and, she was about to shake their hands, she changed her mind and moved away, smirking and saying, "But, I can't guarantee anything." They made an unimpressed look.

Without their notice, Maleficent was in the balcony of Gizmo Shop along with... LeShawna?

"You see? It's just as I told you," she calmly said, "Even the brink of death can't break her massive ego. She's using her friends like she always used everyone that crossed her way, including you."

"But she's my friend," she protested, but unsure, "I think..."

"Look, she replaced you so efficiently that she doesn't even remember your name anymore. And are you sure you can call her a friend? I've obtained the footage of the episode where you became friends with her. Do you really think she accepted your friendship only because she liked you?"

"Huh?"

"My dear apprentice, she didn't bother with your mistake, because, for her, this is not a mistake at all. She's so mean with everyone that she can't feel weight on her conscience, unlike you. She's in this journey only to serve herself. You're better off without that wretched girl. Now, think no more of her, and come with me. I'll help you find your friends." LeShawna couldn't answer her, everything she talked about was very reasonable. She had doubted about her new friendship with Heather in other occasions, but this time the doubt was too strong. She walked away, with a mix of disgust, doubt and anger. Maleficent also left the scene, thinking, "I love when I devise plans that can't be foiled."

In the next morning, they went to the Accessory Shop, which had a giant lock in a shelf, to talk with Dexter, and Jiminy met a friend.

"Well, well, as I live and breathe!" he jumped out, and started to chat, "If it isn't Pinocchio!"

Pinocchio was a live wooden boy, with blue eyes. He replied, "Oh, hi, Jiminy."

"What in the world are you doing down here?"

"Um... Playing hide-and-seek."

"I just don't believe it. And here I was, up all night, just worried sick about you. Why of all the... Pinocchio!" Jiminy cried in surprise, as the boy's nose grew longer. "Pinocchio! Are you telling me the truth?"

"Yes!"

"Then tell me, what is this?"

"It was a present."

"No fibbing, now! You know you're not supposed to tell lies. A lie only grows and grows, 'til you get caught! Plain as the nose on your face!"

"But if you want something, why wait? Why not just take it?"

"Oh, my! Who told you that? You need some advice from your conscience!"

"That's right! You're my conscience, Jiminy! I'll never tell lies as long as you're around." Then his nose returned to normal.

"You need to be good so you can become a real boy. You promised Geppetto you would be, right?"

"Oh! Do you know where Father is?"

"He's not with you?"

"Jiminy, let's go find Father!"

"Now, hold on! There are all sorts of dangers and temptations out there! I'll go find Geppetto, so you just wait here. These fellows here will be helping me."

"We will?" Heather asked, crossing her arms.

"Well, shall we go, Heather?

"Whatever..."

"Ah, you are here," Dexter went in the shop and saluted them, "Good morning. The ship is ready outside." And they passed through the gates. Beth, Geoff, Justin and Sadie were there too, wishing good-bye for them.

Heather stopped and asked, "By the way, did anyone see Izzy?" Everyone shook their heads. "That's strange, because I think I heard her yesterday..."

"Maybe she's crawling at the sewers, like an ugly rat," Justin commented and was slapped by Heather. "Ouch! Why did you do that?"

"Do what?" Heather replied, she didn't notice she just slapped him.

"You slapped me!"

"Serious, I don't know what are you talking about."

"But we saw it, Heather," Beth added.

"Hmm... That must be a tremble or reflex, no big deal," she got in the ship, along with Donald, Goofy and Harold and they took off, to the next world, with everyone waving to them.


	15. Far, Far Away from the End, pt 1

**A.N.: **New chapter, this story arc will be divide in 3 parts.

* * *

_Last time on TOTAL... DRAMA... WORLDS! Seeking informations, the group returns to Traverse Town, where they met professor Xavier _(shows Xavier explaining the situation)_ and then Heather gets upset _(shows her angry)_ and tries to leave. But, she ends being deceived by Mystique, who, disguised as Kitty, set a trap for her_ (shows their talk)_ and she has to face a bunch of Heartless all by herself _(shows her fighting the enemies) _while Harold, Donald and Goofy wander through the town doing errands _(shows them with Evan and Merlin)._ In the end, Heather faced the Opposite Armor alone and almost was killed, but her frie-I mean, allies save her in the right time _(shows Heather being beaten by the enemy and Harold and Goofy attacking)_. With an opportunistic blow, they defeat Opposite Armor and seal Traverse Town _(shows her throwing the Keyblade, with all her remaining forces and locking the keyhole)_. With her new near-death experience will Heather be nicer _(shows her offering her hand to the others)_? Or no_ (shows her moving her hand away)_? And if she fails, does somebody want to hire a handsome TV host? Find more at TOTAL... DRAMA... WORLDS!_

The royal gummi ship was traveling through the space, and, after destroying a Heartless patrol, its passengers were now resting. Donald was piloting the ship calmly, now that the menace was gone, Harold was thrilled after shooting down the enemies at his own battlestation and Goofy was staring the trophy they won at the Coliseum.

"Gawrsh! That's our first trophy at the tournaments."

"Yeah," Harold agreed, "Phil said there'll be another soon."

"And I finally showed to the goat-man I'm there to win!" Heather commented, leaning at the chairs, throwing his arms around her head and putting his feet on the table, completely nonchalant.

FLASHBACK

In the final match of the Phil Cup, the last enemy was a single torso, very akin to the first one they face at Traverse Town, but without the other parts. Heather ran and jumped, piercing and thrusting the armor piece with the Keyblade. The enemy shattered and turned into dust, after a heart came out. Heather adjusted her wig and lifted the Keyblade to the sky to claim her victory. Her teammates were applauding and claiming "You're the best, Heather!"; "Awesome skills, Heather!"; "That was the bravest fight I ever saw!"

"Very good, Heather," Phil said at the prize ceremony, "You have proved yourself."

"I'm very impressed with you Heather," Hercules commented, "You are a true hero!"

"Yeah, I'm good!" Heather proudly smiled and lifted the trophy, with the crowd cheerfully shouting her name "HEATHER! HEATHER!" and throwing flowers to her.

END FLASHBACK

"Wait," Harold interrupted her flashback, "That wasn't all the truth!"

**REAL** FLASHBACK

The flashback sequence shows Heathers choking and using Donald as a shield from enemies, slapping Harold's head, pushing Goofy to face the enemy alone and doing her nails while the others were fighting the last enemy alone, the same torso of the other flashback, and, when they were all knocked out, Heather only shot some fireballs, that defeated the enemy. After the enemy was gone, she approached her fallen teammates and kicked them lightly, saying, "C'mon! The match is over, slackers! Get up! You need to see me getting my trophy."

At the ceremony, Phil angrily handed the trophy to her, saying, "Heather, the rules compel me to give this trophy to you. But, keep this in mind: You'll never become a hero if you don't change!"

"Phil is right," Hercules disapproved her, crossing his arms, "You can't fight like this, that's not how a hero fights. This shows that you still have a weak heart."

"Oh, please!" Heather rolled her eyes, "I don't need to be a hero, just a winner. I played fair without breaking any specific rule." Phil and Hercules only looked down and shook their heads, with the last saying, "Winning is not everything, Heather..."

Heather lifted the trophy to commemorate the victory, but the only thing she heard from the crowd was "BOOOOO! BOOOO!" Nevertheless, she maintained her conceited smile, even while the crowd started to throw rotten vegetables at her.

END **REAL** FLASHBACK

"So what?" she replied, "I was only doing the necessary to win."

"Heather, don't you learn anything at last time?" asked Harold, putting his hands on his head in frustration.

"Of course, we are a team, right? That means I'm the most important member of the team, I always have been; if I die, it's everything over, so you must go first to clear my path, duh!" Harold only sighed and muttered, "No wonder they started to call her 'Dirty Heather'..."

"Harold, don't ya think Heather's going to take advantage of us?" Goofy whispered, without attracting Heather's attention, she was distracted, thinking about their victory.

"She's already doing," Harold whispered back, "That's a problem, because she's partially right, we must help and protect her. But we must stress her that we aren't her puppets, or else, you know…."

"What are you talking there?" Heather harshly asked.

"Heather," Goofy tried to ask, "Can't you be nicer with everyone?"

"Oh, please," Heather said, "Niceness is a relative concept. Since this thing showed up for me," she summoned the Keyblade, "I'm being nice enough with you..."

"At least can you don't us anymore as living shields next time at Coliseum?" Goofy asked, without losing his politeness.

"Maybe..." she answered, without much concern.

"Don't lose focus of your mission," Donald repeated this for himself four times.

"Hey," said Harold, trying to make Heather shut up, "We're seeing a new world there."

"So let's go!" Goofy added and put the trophy at the desk and readied himself like the others, and Heather only shrugged, "I should be paid for everytime I do this. I have an idea: we should organize a mercenary force that..."

"HEATHER!" everyone shouted at the same time.

"Kidding," and she gave them a half-hearted smile.

**Far Far Away**

They landed in a grassland, behind some trees, to not call attention of the dwellers, since the readings pointed out this was a world without much technological advance.

"Where we're going, now?" Heather asked.

"Let's go to that castle," Donald said, pointing to a castle at a nearby hill. The castle itself was an eerie vision, the sky became dusky with the clouds over it.

"Hmm, Donald, don't you think that castle is a little… strange?" Harold asked, while staring the building.

"I know what I'm doing!" Donald angrily replied, "I live in a castle! I know one thing or two about castles!"

"Riiight..." Heather agreed, disheartened.

They went to castle, took half an hour to reach. When there, they learnt that the castle was in the middle of a volcano. No signs of life at their side, only some sporadic wisps of grass, which weren't very greeny and a faded light at the keep.

"D-donald, I think we should go back!" Harold said, trembling.

"Gawrsh! I think he's right, Donald," Goofy added, covering his eyes.

"No," Donald disagreed, "We must keep moving. Let's go through that bridge!"

"But, Donald..." Goofy tried to reason.

"I know it seems dangerous, but it's nothing, absolutely nothing." Donald answered back. Goofy and Harold didn't seem relieved, while Heather only raised her eyebrow. "My senses are telling me the duck is looking for something else..." Heather muttered.

They crossed the unstable bridge, holding on tightly to the rope handrail.

"Gawrsh, Donald," Goofy complained, "Are ya sure this bridge is safe?"

"Of course, we can even bounce that's nothing happens, look!" and Donald started to bounce the bridge. The bridge lurched and the sustained ropes collapsed at the side they walked in. They had to hold on to the boards with all strength they could get together, they did get desperate while the bridge fell. Under them, the magma reduced to ashes some loose boards.

Everyone screamed in fear. "DONALD! It's all your fault!" Heather yelled, glaring daggers at the duck.

"Don't wanna die, I didn't propose LeShawna!" Harold also yelled, with tears in his eyes.

"Wait, I think I heard someone approaching," Goofy tried to calm down them.

"Look at we have here!" the voice said, and the group looked up. It was a green ogre, wearing a white medieval shirt, and a leather vest and trousers, "We aren't the only one who are looking for the prize."

"See, Shrek, I told you that bridge wasn't safe," the other voice added, it was a gray talking donkey. "These bridges weren't made to be safe! If they were safe, they should be bigger and..."

"It's because they must've took the frail bridge, not the good one, duh!" the ogre interrupted.

"Hey, I know half of these suckers!" the other voice said, looking down; indeed was Duncan. The only difference with him, was that he had a sheath wrapped along his hips, indicating he was holding a sword, "The wigged girl is Heather and the boy is DORIS!"

"Wait, he's called DORIS!" the donkey exclaimed and they laughed at their misery.

"Silver," Shrek said, while wiping a tear, "What kind of freak girl uses silver hair?"

"Great," Heather scoffed, while holding tightly the board, "Three happy beasts: an ogre, a talking donkey and Duncan!" this only made them laugh even more. "What are you waiting for? Pull up the bridge?"

"I don't know," Duncan teased, "For how much?"

"Duncan, you can't bargain our lives, we're in trouble here," Harold tried to reason, with a concerned voice.

"Oh, c'mon, I'm trying to profit," Duncan said, unworried, since he knew they would give over soon.

"Duncan! I don't know how much time I can take." Harold protested.

"Don't worry, I'll make you a gravestone: Doris, the nerdiest geek of the world," Duncan teased him again.

Heather growled very hard, but then she had an idea. "Duuuuncan," she said with a 'kind' voice, "I have this sword," and she showed the Keyblade, without loosing the board, "It's priceless, and I'm sure you'd like to have one."

"Know what, I need a new sword anyway," he shrugged, "Okay, guys, let's pull up them," and Shrek and Duncan pulled them from the lava lake. Goofy and Donald kissed the ground, while Harold wanted to have some explanations.

"Duncan," Harold frowned, and lifting his arms, "What's the big idea?"

"Relax, dude," he replied, showing both hands, "Do you think I'd really let you die?" Harold just frowned. "Anyway, time to get my prize," and he walked to Heather. The silver-wigged girl was waiting for him, smirking.

"Hmm, I don't like that smirk," Duncan commented, not smiling anymore, "It's the same smirk that was in your face that night you stole my map."

"Oh, come on," she replied, nonchalant, "It's just your imagination..." Heather stretched her hand and made the Keyblade appear on. Duncan grabbed the handle and stared. Without warning, the Keyblade disappeared and reappeared in Heather's hand, with her smirk growing larger.

"Hey, that's not fair," he complained and crossed his arms.

"Ha!" Heather confidently said, while flipping the Keyblade in the air, "This thing chose me. Nobody can handle it but me."

"Okay everybody," Shrek interrupted, "Can we just go now? The faster I finish my deal, the faster I can get my swamp back!"

"Just a moment," Heather said, and grabbed Donald by the neck and held him over the lava lake. "Now, duck, tell me what was your plan!"

"Wak," Donald barely could talk, "I just... I just..."

"You just what, soon-to-be-roasted-duck?" asked Heather, with an angry look, while shaking him.

"You know, these castles are filled with treasures, Wahh," Heather pressed even more, "So I thought we could get some for us."

"Treasure, huh? Okay," and she turned and dropped Donald on the ground. Goofy helped him to stand up, "Ya know, the King always warns you to control your greed, Donald."

"I know," he replied, still scared and rubbing his neck.

Then, she asked Shrek, "So, you're here for the treasures?"

"Actually I'm here because Lord Farquaad, the ruler of Duloc, ordered me to get the princess who is being held captive here. Name's Shrek."

"Heather. Why that Farquaad doesn't come here personally?"

"He promised to give my swamp back."

"Ogre in a swamp, how original..."

"That's our swamp, right Shrek," Donkey added and Shrek only rolled his eyes. "Oh, I'm Donkey, I'm the only talking donkey in the world, I can do many things, like walking with two legs," he forced his back foot and stood up by his two legs for some time, but he returned to his normal position, and asked Harold, "Oh, are you called Doris? Do you know that my mom's was Doris? I don't remember her very well, she always kicked me at the head..."

"Actually is my surname," Harold bothered corrected him, "My name is Harold."

"Goofy!"

"Donald!"

"Okay, now we know each other, we have a duty to complete. Will ya help us?" Shrek asked.

"What can we do in this crappy place?" Heather complained.

"Who knows if the keyhole is inside there?" Goofy suggested.

"What? There must thousand of keyholes inside this castle." Donkey asked, flabberstagged.

"Let me explain," Donald said.

"Right, but let's moving," Shrek said, "I'm sure you can walk and talk at the same time."


	16. Far, Far Away from the End, pt 2

******A.N.:** I decided to split this chapter, because I thought the last part was more like a cliffhanger. I hope it's okay. Also, since I'm publishing this today, maybe I don't publish Friday.

**Update**: Rewriting, I realized that some parts may qualify as plagiarism, so the chapter is under rewriting process.

* * *

"Carnival has arrived earlier," Heather sarcastically said. The others gazed her, unimpressed with the committee accompanying Lord Farquaad. She saw Shrek and Fiona having an argument, but she didn't care, their relationship problems weren't her problems, and she stood silent about her secret. The tiny landlord glanced at her, and pretended she wasn't there.

Lord Farquaad and Princess Fiona exchanged some words, which deeply irritated Shrek and everyone went to their way. Shrek returned to the swamp, angrily holding a piece of paper, he didn't even look back. Fiona, on the other hand, did look behind as Shrek went away.

"Princess Fiona, beautiful, fair, flawless Fiona. I ask your hand in marriage. Will you be the perfect bride for the perfect groom?" Farquaad grabbed gently her hand and courted her, and stopping her train of thought on Shrek.

"Lord Farquaad, I accept. Nothing would make..." she hid her reluctance.

"Excellent!" he gleefully interrupted, "I'll start the plans, for tomorrow we wed!"

"No!" she looked to the sun and remembered of her curse, "I mean, uh, why wait? Let's get married today before the sun sets."

"Oh, anxious, are you? You're right. The sooner, the better. There's so much to do! There's the caterer, the cake, the band, the guest list," he mounted on the horse, with help of his aide and ordered, "Captain, round up some guests!" and he helped Fiona to mount.

She looked back at Shrek and said, "Fare-thee-well, ogre," and let them, heading to Duloc. Shrek still didn't look back.

Then, Heather's group went where they were, and Donkey blurted out, "Shrek, what are you doing? You're letting her get away."

"Yeah. So what?" he replied, both nonchalant and upset.

"Shrek, there's something about her you don't know. Look, Heather and I talked to her last night," Donkey tried to explain.

"I know you talked to her last night. You're great pals, aren't ya?"

"Believe me, no!" Heather scoffed.

"Now, if you two are such good friends, why don't you follow her home?"

"Shrek, I," Donkey said, sad, "I wanna go with you."

"I told you, didn't I? You're not coming home with me. I live alone! My swamp! Me! Nobody else! Understand? Nobody! Neither the other ogres, barbarians, weirdoes, talking dogs or ducks. And especially useless, pathetic, annoying, talking donkeys!" Shrek screamed, filled with anger.

"But I thought..."

"Know what? You thought wrong!" and he walked off, fuming against everything, ignoring everyone.

"Pathetic," Heather said, without caring. But, when she turned, she saw everyone frowning at her, "What?"

"Congratulations, Heather," Harold sarcastically said.

"Heather, I even like your fighting style, without the minimal regard for enemies and allies," Duncan calmly explained but then he spoke out, "But this time you went too far! The only chance Shrek had and you mess up with everything!"

"Why do you think I have something to do with this?"

"You always have," Duncan said, crossing his arms and frowning.

"Shrek told us everything," Donald said.

"Oh, please," she rolled her eyes, "Even if I try to explain, you wouldn't believe in me. And why do you care with him?"

"Because, he's my buddy," Duncan cried.

"Yeah," Donald agreed, "And we don't abandon friends."

She growled and walked off, going to other direction.

"Heather does this everytime..." Goofy sighed, "What do we do now, Donald?"

"Well, I'll go try to talk to him," Duncan said, going to the direction Shrek went.

"Let's go, Goofy," Donald said, pointing to Duncan, and they followed Duncan.

Meanwhile, Heather was in a glade, sitting upon a stump, grumbling, "Stupid ogre, why he's so stubborn? And what about that talk over judge people without knowing them... wait, why do I care?" Then, she heard a sound. It was a bear, appearing from the bushes near her, and growled at her.

"GRRRRRR for you too," she growled back and glared at the bear so furiously that he got scared and went away. She was still hearing sounds, "I gonna teach him a lesson," and she rose from the stump and went look at what was there. But what she saw wasn't a bear.

"Hear, my soldiers of darkness," it was Lord Farquaad discoursing to a platoon of various types of Heartless, in a plain. At his side was the mistress evil, Maleficent, "Today I'll be crowned king and tomorrow we'll destroy the man who detains me from taking over this world. Victory is within our ground!" the Heartless heard, steady.

"Farquaad, they are Heartless, they can't feel your joy," Maleficent tried to reason with him.

"I know, but I need to feel important," Maleficent just rolled her eyes, "Thanks to you, I replaced my entire army with Heartless, darkness can't control me!" and he laughed aloud.

"End soon, potty despot," Maleficent talked to herself under her breath, "I only need of the princess." She shook her head, disgusted, since she had enough with the tiny egocentric prince and she glanced at Heather, she was spying them behind some bushes. Heather noticed, gasped and quickly hid herself. Maleficent made an evil grin and pretended ignoring her. She could simply warn Farquaad that Heather was there and send the entire Heartless army to terminate her, but she didn't do it and stood still at Farquaad side, while he was doing his interminable speech.

Heather ran away, trying to find her allies. Instead, she found Donkey, "Donkey, do you know which side they go?"

The Donkey was still depressed with Shrek and answered, with a dismal voice, "They went that direction..." and he pointed with his hoof to an intersection of three roads.

"Donkey, you aren't helping," she replied, slapping her forehead.

"If only I had fingers..." he replied, like an emo kid.

"Donkey," he slapped his nose and shouted, "STOP AND BE USEFUL!"

"Sorry, I'm so sad because of Shrek, you know..."

"I don't want to know," she interrupted, "If you have problems with him with don't go there demanding an apology? Now WHICH SIDE DO THEY GO?"

"There, by the left," the donkey said, somewhat scared with her tone of voice. She didn't show any gratitude and rushed through the way. Donkey stopped to murmur and thought at her. He took some attitude and went to the swamp to have a serious talk with Shrek, by a shortcut.

After a while, she caught up with her allies. They still were upset about her.

"Look who's coming," said Harold, crossing his arms.

"Guys, I have to tell you something," she gasped, "Farquaad is evil! He's assembling a big Heartless army and I think he has bad intentions about Fiona!"

"And why do we should trust you?" Donald snobbed her.

Then, she grabbed the duck by the neck and glared into his eyes, "Because, when I say something serious, you MUST believe in me," they heard something cackling, "We are a team and we have a deal: I say, you believe it, and, when I say the Heartless are coming, you BELIEVE it, RIGHT?"

"Okay, okay," Donald wretchedly agreed with her and she let him go, throwing him to Goofy.

"And since when do you started to care with Shrek, Fiona or even us?" Duncan asked, skeptical.

"I DON'T CARE!" Heather shouted and explained, turning to a serious pose, "If we let this world be consumed by the darkness that would be counted as a fail, and I hate fails!"

"She cares," Duncan whispered to Harold, who nodded.

They ran and finally reached the swamp, and they saw Shrek and Donkey arguing. Shrek was going to the toilet, yelling, "Oh, yeah. You're right, Donkey. I forgive you... FOR STABBIN' ME IN THE BACK!" and he slammed the door at Donkey's face.

"Ohh! You're so wrapped up in layers, onion boy, you're afraid of your own feelings."

"Go away," Shrek said, from inside the toilet.

"There you are, doing it again just like you did to Fiona. All she ever do was like you, maybe even love you."

"Love me? She said I was ugly, a hideous creature. I heard the three of you talking."

"She wasn't talkin' about you. She was talkin' about, uhm," he thought for a while, "somebody else."

Shrek opened the door and said, a little sheepish, "She wasn't talking about me?"

"Of course not, you big, ugly sack of rotten potatoes!" Heather cried.

"Um, Heather," Shrek asked, coming out the toilet, "What are you saying?"

"She wasn't talking about you, moron!" Heather scoffed, with her typical nastiness and continued, "And, know what? That Farquaad guy has a big Heartless army and I'm sure he has no good plans for Fiona."

"What? How can I know you're telling the truth?" Shrek asked, doubtful.

"Believe me," Donald said, rubbing his neck, "She's telling the truth... Ow..."

"Okay, so I think we have a job to do, but first," he turned to Donkey with a repentant look, "Look, I'm sorry, all right?" he sighed, "I'm sorry. I guess I am just a big, stupid, ugly ogre. Can you forgive me?"

"Hey, that's what friends are for, right?" Donkey gleefully accepted his apology.

"This is for you too, Duncan, Harold, Donald, Goofy and even Heather."

"No problem," Duncan agreed.

"Ahyuck, we're here to help," Goofy added.

"We can finally getting along," Donald happily completed.

"So," he asked Donkey, embarrassed, "What did Fiona say about me?"

"What are you asking me for? Why don't you just go ask her?"

"The wedding!" Shrek spoke out, "We'll never make it in time."

The donkey chuckled and said, "Never fear, for where, there's a will, there's a way and I have a way," he whistled and the female dragon showed up.

"Donkey?" Shrek stared, impressed.

"I guess it's just my animal magnetism." Donkey chuckled and everyone laughed, with exception of Heather.

"Looks like we have another lady-killer here," Duncan grinned and patted Donkey's back.

"Aw, come here, you," and Shrek gave him a friendly noggie.

"All right, all right. Don't get all slobbery. No one likes a kiss ass. All right, hop on and hold on tight. I haven't had a chance to install the seat belts yet." Donkey joked.

"We're gonna fly on this?" Heather asked, barely believing.

"Cool," said Harold, thrilled, "I never flew on a dragon before. This is becoming better and better!"

They climbed on the dragon's back and headed for Duloc, flying the faster she could.


	17. Far, Far Away from the End, pt 3

**A.N.: **Writing this story arc made me remember how much we must thank Tetsuya Nomura and all his helpers, you deserve our compliments. By the way, I know that was more suitable to transform Farquaad into a dragon, but Maleficent is also here, so I did something different. Also, taking a suggestion made by ckelef1, thanks for that.

**Update**: Rewriting, I realized that some parts may qualify as plagiarism, so the chapter is under rewriting process.

* * *

At the chapel of Duloc, the entire village was there. In front of the priest were Lord Farquaad and Fiona were getting married. Farquaad looked proud of himself, after all, married with princess Fiona, daughter of King Philip, he could claim the throne and it didn't seem that he would wait for the King die. In the other hand, Fiona looked very nervous, with the sun at the sky and the doubtful feeling in his heart. Anyway, she wanted to rush the ceremony to his end, to avoid revealing her hideous form to Farquaad. She wouldn't give up to set free from her curse for nothing, so she chose to ignore her doubt, whatsoever its force. Maleficent was also there, standing behind the curtains, waiting for the end of the ceremony.

Up in the skies, the dragon was carrying the group and prepared to land at the courtyard, where they could see some Heartless.

"What? Heartless?" Shrek said, aloud.

"I heard Farquaad saying that he replaced his army with Heartless," Heather replied.

"That's no problem," Donkey said, and talked to the dragon, "Honey, show some fire for you steed." The dragon launched a fire blast that vaporized the Heartless and they safely landed.

"Go ahead, have some fun. If we need you, I'll whistle. How about that?" the dragon nodded. When Shrek was about to enter at the church, followed by everyone, Donkey stopped him, saying, "Shrek, wait, wait! Wait a minute! You wanna do this right, don't you?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Donkey, we don't have time," Heather protested, annoyed.

"There's a line you gotta wait for. The preacher's gonna say, 'Speak now or forever hold your peace.' That's when you say, 'I object!'"

"We don't have time for this!" Shrek objected.

"Wait, Shrek," Duncan interrupted, "This gotta be fun!"

"Listen to me! Look, you love this woman, don't you?" Donkey challenged Shrek.

"Yes!"

"So, what are you waiting for?"

"All right! Cut it out. When does this guy say the line?"

"We gotta check it out."

And, putting their feet on their shoulders, they made a tower, with Donkey at the top. Heather obviously refused to help. Shrek was at the base, asking aloud, "What do you see?"

"The whole town's here!" Donkey screamed back.

"Urgh! How much this'll take?" Duncan moaned, above Shrek and below Harold.

"Mother! He already said it." Donkey screamed.

"Oh, for the love of John Leguizamo!" Shrek said and ran toward the church, letting the others fall hard on the ground. Heather was grinning, like she was expecting that.

"C'mon," Heather said, without caring with their injuries, "We have to go inside."

"Wait, Heather," Duncan said, moaning, "That's Shrek's hour. He must do it alone."

"Fine, but more Heartless will show up soon."

"Wait, he's saying that he objects!" Harold said, looking by the door. "The crowd started to throw things, but then… oh, shiny!"

"What's happening, Doris?" Duncan asked.

"The light blinded me… I'm okay now, wait, Fiona is an ogre."

"No surprise here," Heather said, disinterestedly staring at her nails.

"And now there's a witch beside Farquaad, and he's summoning Heartless!"

"What? Go get them!"

In the altar, Farquaad let Fiona go, but she was still under his knife's reach, and he turned to Maleficent pointing his finger, glaring at her, saying, "You knew this!" She only smirked and replied, "You didn't take heed to the advice of the mirror."

"That doesn't matter now," he picked the crown and put on his head, "I am king now, and you Fiona, you're going to the fortress!"

In that time, Heather, Duncan, Harold, Donald, Goofy and Donkey ran toward the altar, readying their weapons.

"You're going nowhere, Farquaad," Duncan said, waving his sword.

"Wait, are you Maleficent?" Harold asked to Maleficent. She only handed him a bottle containing a red liquid and disappeared using her magic, leaving a black and green smoke.

"Of course it was Maleficent!" Heather snapped, slapping the back of Harold's head.

"Guys, let's take of these suckers!" Shrek said, readying his club, "Don't worry, Fiona. I'll protect you." She didn't reply but smiled to him.

The Knight Heartless proceed to attack Donald and Goofy, but they were shoved away by Goofy's tornado and Donald's Blizzard and Duncan, with fast swings, finished them. Heather jumped and knocked two Air Soldiers to the ground and Shrek smashed them. Harold used his nunchakus to protect himself from the fireballs that an Armored Body was spitting at them and managed to reflect it, dazing the big Heartless. Heather took advantage of and attacked it with all her might, sending it to Duncan, who thrust his sword at his back, defeating it. Donkey was in the crowd, cheering for Shrek, Heather and the others and dancing like a cheerleader.

After all Heartless were gone, Farquaad picked a dagger and pointed to Fiona's throat, "Not one step anymore!"

"No!" Shrek cried. Heather lifted the Keyblade to the sky, her wig became blond and she cast Thunder. A jolt hit Farquaad's head and made him drop the dagger. Heather, then, launched a series of Sonic Blade attacks at the petty king, making him falling unconscious.

"Fiona," Shrek ran toward her, and held her hand, "Are you okay? I was so worried."

"Whoa, that was exciting," she said, and giggled at the end.

"Gawrsh! I must admit that was a risky move, Heather," Goofy commented.

She conceitedly shrugged and said, "Well, that's it."

"Go ahead, Shrek," Donkey said, cheering.

"It's the big time, buddy," Duncan said, patting his shoulder.

Shrek smiled and said, gently holding her hand, "Um, Fiona, there's something I must tell you."

"Yes, Shrek?" Fiona said, smiling too.

"I," he became disconcerted for a while but managed to finish the phrase, "I love you."

"Really?" she pretended to be surprised.

"Really, really!"

Then she grinned widely and said, "I love you too," and they shared a passionate kiss. The entire audience said "Aww". The entire audience minus Heather, but she was looking at them with a satisfied look. Suddenly, something happened: Fiona started to float in the midair. Shrek looked confused until he heard something like a record saying, "Until you find true love's first kiss and then take love's true form..." and the voice repeated the last part three times, as Fiona started to glow intensively and finally flashed. When the light faded out, she was lying on the ground. Shrek leaned down toward her and asked, "Fiona? Are you all right?"

In fact, she was still an ogre, a big, fat, green ogress. Shrek helped her to stand up and she asked, understanding nothing, "Well, yes. But I don't understand. I'm supposed to be beautiful."

Shrek smiled and said, "But you _are_ beautiful," and they kissed again.

"Fools!" Farquaad shrieked, holding the bottle that Maleficent gave him, "You are nothing but monsters and there will be no place for monsters at my perfect kingdom!"

"Farquaad," Shrek and Fiona gasped.

"Wait, Heather, you didn't kill Farquaad?" Harold asked, holding his head with his hands.

"Nope," Heather answered, nonchalant.

"What are you gonna do? You are as little and weedy as a worm," Duncan teased.

With a wicked look on his eyes, he opened the bottle and drank the red liquid. A dark-red smoke started to surround him, and he laughed maniacally, "To defeat a monster I must become a monster." The audience quickly evacuated the chapel while only those who were at the altar stayed there (actually Donkey hid beneath a pew).

After the smoke faded away, they saw that Farquaad had transformed himself into a giant red crab. His right pincer was the size of a piano and his body was greater than an elephant.

"Wow, it's the Giant Enemy Crab," Harold said, surprised, "Strangely, I was expecting a dragon."

"Shut it, Harold!"

"You heard him, only a monster can defeat a monster," Shrek said and whistled with his fingers, but nothing happened. "Donkey, where's the dragon?"

"I don't know, maybe something had happened," Donkey said, looking concerned, "I'll go see," and he ran to the outside.

"Someone must help him," Duncan said, following him.

"Shrek," Fiona cried as Farquaad picked her with his left pincer.

"Farquaad," Shriek angrily cried, holding his club, "let Fiona go!"

With a crabby and creepy voice he replied, "I was hoping she could be my beautiful consort but I can find her a proper function. The answer is NO. You see, she's a princess - one of eight who somehow hold the key to opening the door."

"Open..." Goofy said, dumfounded.

"... the door," Donald completed, astonished.

"But you fools won't live to see what lies beyond it," and he slammed his right pincer on the floor, which collapsed. Heather, Harold, Donald, Goofy and Shrek fell into the basement of the chapel. It was a large basement, with a big wall at its end, with a keyhole there. They went that direction but Crab Farquaad came into their way, still holding Fiona.

"Ah, so they keyhole was under my feet all this time," he said, nonchalant, opening wide his right pincer.

"Shrek, ugh," Fiona cried, "Help me."

"Silence, princess," Farquaad scoffed, tightening her.

Goofy ran toward him, but Farquaad punched him with his right pincer. Goofy had time only to hide behind his shield and this halved the damage. Without looking aside, Farquaad swung his right pincer and shoved Harold away, who was approaching by the right side. Heather cast Fire at him, but she used Fiona to block the attack. She moaned, slightly burned.

"Heather, watch out," Shrek complained, "I don't wanna Fiona hurt!"

"And I wanna win this battle," she replied, unworried.

"We must figure out how we can free Fiona," Donald reasoned.

"Maybe a strong attack may cause him to lose balance and free Fiona," Shrek suggested.

"Go for the belly," Harold shouted, "I think it's his weak point."

"Heather, you must try," Shrek said.

"Why do I have to risk my life?" Heather asked.

"Don't wanna win?" Harold snapped, "I can't do that because of my weapon. A bladed weapon can pierce through his belly for massive damage."

Heather only frowned and showed her tongue. But seeing no other option, she decided to try. She cast Aero on herself and rushed to the space between Farquaad's belly and the floor, avoid a stroke from his right pincer. She dashed and, under his belly, and stabbed his belly with the Keyblade. Farquaad cried in pain and accidentally loose Fiona from his left pincer, slamming the ground. Heather jumped out in the right time, gasped and proceeded to hit Farquaad with more strikes, with his allies following. Shrek quickly grabbed her and took her to a safe distance, near the keyhole.

"Please, stay here and don't fear, I'll protect you," and he kissed her forehead.

"He's a real gallant chevalier," she happily sighed, holding her hands together. However, she never saw the end of the battle. Somebody actually shot a tranquilizer dart at her and kidnapped her, without anyone notice.

Farquaad recovered his senses, yelling insults to them and static started to surround his right pincer. He slammed his right pincer on the ground and projected a shockwave into their direction, letting a destruction trace in the floor, which sent them flying away. He charged his pincer again, slammed and hit them again.

"Ouch," Heather groaned, rubbing her arm, "How many times can he attack like this?"

"I have an idea," Harold said, "I'll try to use my num-yos to immobilize his pincer." Harold swung his num-yos and his strategy worked: the num-yos bound the pincer and Farquaad couldn't attack anymore.

"That wasn't bad, Harold," Heather wrote up, in one of her rare moments. But that didn't last for much longer. With his left pincer, Farquaad cut the num-yos and made his right pincer operational again. "I take that back," Heather frowned.

Shrek approached aside and slammed his club at one of Farquaad's leg. This made him lose balance, but he grabbed Shrek with his left pincer and started to squeeze him for a while and he tossed the ogre against them. When he landed, luckily everyone got out the way, Donald cast Cure on him and he got up, rubbing his forehead.

"Wow, he's too strong," Shrek moaned, "Where's the dragon? I'm sure she could easily kick his butt. Um, crabs have butt?"

"Donald let's attack by long range, Fire," and Heather and Donald cast Fire at him. He used his pincers to protect himself and, when they stopped for a while, Farquaad spat out green goo at them.

"Yuck! What is this?" Heather asked, looking disgusted at the goo.

"This seems some kind of superglue," Harold said, tasting the goo, "Tastes like superglue. Don't step on it."

"And I thought I was disgusting," Shrek shrieked.

"Guys, I'm stuck," Goofy cried, trying to free his right foot from the goo. Shrek tried to pull him away, but the goo was too strong. Farquaad closed in them and lifted his right pincer to slam them. Taking advantage of this, Heather approached and attacked the belly. Again, Farquaad cried in pain and got dazed, falling on the ground. Shrek had to use all his might to free Goofy and Heather, Donald and Harold started to attack the grounded Farquaad. When he got up again, he swayed his pincers, but they were fast enough to avoid the attack. Farquaad got angry and started to spit green goo all over the area.

"He's trying to immobilize us," Goofy cried.

"Be careful where you step," Donald added.

But Farquaad filled the arena with green goo. He caught Donald, Goofy and Shrek. Harold was using his dancing techniques to avoid step on the goo, but he was hit by the pincer and fell on the goo. Heather was also avoiding the green goo puddles. To attack him, she jumped, hit his right pincer to avoid being attacked, and landed on the giant crab's back. He tried to shake her off, but she hit his eyes with the Keyblade. Farquaad got startled and Heather took advantage of to go down and hit hard Farquaad's belly.

"You... you..." Farquaad moaned, getting up with hate. He lifted his right pincer again, but he was stomped by Dragon, finally defeating him.

"You know, I never enjoyed seafood," Donkey said, on the dragon's back with Duncan.

"Donkey, you are alright," Shrek happily said.

"Yeah, someone chained the dragon and Duncan helped to set her free. That's why we didn't come earlier."

"I have my ways," Duncan boasted.

"Now, can you help us?" Shrek said, having problems with the green goo. Dragon gently took them out the goo with her mouth and put them on her back. Before Heather step in, she used the Keyblade to lock the world from the Heartless. The beam connected and all Heartless in the world disappeared, including former Farquaad's large army. And they weren't the only ones who disappeared.

"Wait, where's Fiona?" Shrek cried; the ogress princess was seeing in nowhere. The area started to shake.

"The chapel will collapse," Harold said.

"Whoa, we'd better get out of here!" Goofy added.

"Wait," Heather stopped to get a paper from the floor and looked surprised, "It's the Magneto report!"

"Later!" Donald said, aloud.

"Fiona!" Shrek cried even louder. The group had to hold him back or else he wouldn't come with them. The dragon took off before the chapel collapsed and went to the swamp.

There, Shrek finally accepted the fact, "So, Fiona's no longer in Far Far Away. Heather, let's go find her."

"Sorry," she replied, nonchalant, "I can't take you with me."

"Wh-why not?" he asked, surprised.

"I sure wish we could..." Goofy said, looking down.

"But we can't. If we take him to another world, we would be..." Donald explained.

"Mu...Mudd..." Goofy tried to say...

"Meddling!" Donald completed.

"Don't worry, I'm not of this world, so I'm above the rules," Duncan said, swinging his sword, "I love this feeling."

"Yeah, I think you're right," Harold sighed. He'd had to put up with Duncan, who was looking at him with a cheesy grin, once again.

"Hey, look what I found," Donkey entered the scene holding a glowing gem with the mouth. The gem started to glow and absorbed the jackass. Heather sighed and used they Keyblade to summon Donkey.

"Whoa, where was I?" Donkey exclaimed, surprised.

"Look, this is a summon gem, that means now we can summon you when we need," Donald explained.

"Donkey, you can go with them," Shrek said, "Help find Fiona."

"Don't worry, once I learnt a trick with a little deer that will help them a lot, just leave it to me," Donkey happily said, as he returned to the summon gem.

Meanwhile at the same dark meeting room, where all villains got together, they were discussing their plans, Hades, Mystique and Maleficent.

"That smarmy prince could've had 'em - if someone had stuck around to give him a hand." Hades said, trying to tease someone.

"Please," Mystique cut in, "I never liked him so much, he didn't know the meaning of bath. I'm even glad he's gone, but he could leave the pesky girl with him."

Then, someone entered in the room, "Yo, I did my part. I brought the princess, didn't I?" LeShawna said, trying to explain herself.

"Farquaad was beyond help, consumed by his own ambition. One should beware of letting it burn too fiercely." Maleficent calmly explained, acquitting LeShawna.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Lighten up. No hard feelings, okay?" Hades said, confident while Mystique ignored them and walked off, "By the way, girl, you know we couldn't forget you."

"Huh?" LeShawna raised her eyebrow.

"We had a deal, yes?" Maleficent said, "You helped us, and we grant you your wish, your friends..." Then, Maleficent made an image of Izzy appear on the table. She was unconscious, in bad shape.

"Izzy!" LeShawna cried and looked to Maleficent, "What happened to her?"

"I don't know. If she's your friend, go to her, your vessel is waiting."

Then, a pirate entered in the room. He was wearing a purple vest, with a large hat, with the symbol of skull and bones, but, instead of a human skull, there was a robotic skull. With his yellow eyes, and sharp beard, the evil metallic pirate Admiral Razorbeard warned LeShawna, "Just remember, this is no pleasure cruise. It won't be a pleasant voyage."

LeShawna started to though, "They're aligned with darkness, they can't be nice all time..." and she blurted out, "Why are you doing all this for me? What's the catch?"

"Catch? What's the catch? Silly girl," Maleficent calmly and friendly said, gently touching her face, "You're like a daughter to me. I only want you to be happy."

LeShawna shoved Maleficent's hand from her face, saying, "I seriously doubt that."

"Believe whatever you wish. I kept my end of the bargain." Maleficent, without losing the cool, explained. LeShawna still looked suspiciously at her and followed Razorbeard.

"Now it's time to us to go," Harold said to Shrek.

"Here. Take this with you," Shrek said, holding a keychain. "I found this in swamp other day. It's called 'Happily Ever After'."

"Okay," said Heather, getting the keychain. It had a chain with the crest of King Philip, an eagle.

"It's amazing how much thing we find in the swamp," he chuckled, "Heather, please find Fiona for me."

"I don't know, I have a full agenda." She replied, staring her nails.

"Don't worry," Duncan whispered to Shrek, "That means an affirmative in her language."

"Aren't we forgetting something?" Goofy asked.

"CONGRATULATIONS!" everyone, minus Duncan and Shrek, knew what this 'congratulations' meant. The Nakombi landed on the swamp and Chris MacLean stepped out, with their prizes, "You've cleared another world, Heather and this is your prize."

"Look, it's Chris MacDonald!" Duncan teased.

"It's MacLean," he replied, a little irritated. "Aham... You have double prize today. This gem," he showed a red octagonal gem, "will upgrade your Fire attacks, and this gem," he showed a blue octagonal gem," will upgrade your Blizzard attacks. Stay tuned for more TOTAL... DRAMA... WORLDS!" When the ship took off, it accidentally hit Dragon. She got angry and launched a fire blast at the ship, which was shot down.

"Uhm, shall we go there?" Shrek asked.

"No, they'll be fine," Heather shrugged. They said good-bye to Shrek and the dragon and took off, heading for the next world.


	18. Far, Far Away from the End, pt 4

**A.N.: **Only to remind: I still own nothing, no profit is being made by this fanfic.

**Update**: Rewriting, I realized that some parts may qualify as plagiarism, so the chapter is under rewriting process.

* * *

_Welcome back to TOTAL... DRAMA... WORLDS! Last time, Heather and her team faced various rounds of enemies at the Coliseum _(shows the group battling Heartless at the arena)_, even easily defeating a known face in a swindle _(shows Heather hitting Tyler's head)_, but the things got worse when Heather faced Wolverine, who beat her group without much effort _(shows Wolverine slashing her leg)_. After sparing her life, Cerberus, the Guardian of the Underworld _(shows Cerberus howling in the arena)_ shows up and mess with everything at the Coliseum. Heather recovers and defeat the beast _(shows Heather stabbing his head)_, saving the day, getting nothing _(shows Phil  
awarding the group, and Heather angry, without her license), _the first thing a hero need to learn, hehe. What challenges they'll face today? Will Heather become a hero? Will Harold stop to amend Phil? Will our world be restored before my surplus hair gel stock ends? Find out in TOTAL... DRAMA... WORLDS!_

At the interspace, the gummi ship passed next to a world. Seen by the space, the world was covered by a jungle and rocky formations. Goofy, then, pondered:

"Hey, Donald, maybe King Mickey's down there."

The duck answered, unwilling to stop the ship, "In a backwater place like that? No way! Let's move on."

"Hold on," Harold said, "LeShawna might be down there. Let's just check it out."

"Forget it! We're on an important mission!"

"He's right, Harold," Heather added, "We can't simply stop at every single world we find, it's useless."

"Harold, umm..." Beth tried to intervene, but was interrupted by Harold.

"Just land!" the geek kept insisting, "I have a good feeling." Heather rolled her eyes and sat down on a chair.

"No!" Donald replied, without taking his eyes from the cockpit.

"Come on!"

"Aw, phooey!"

"We're landing," and Harold pressed a big red button conveniently placed next to him.

"Don't touch that! Noooo!" Donald dandled his hands, trying to impede Harold, but it was too late. The engines stopped, after emitting some weird noises, and they fell on the world.

**Amazonian Plateau**

"Aaaaahhh!" Heather fell on a tree, and its great leaves smoothed her fall. "Ouch! Wha... Hey... I'm in a forest." she got up, shook off the dust and started to walk. Without having time to work out her mind, she heard an intimidating and deep voice.

"Who are you? What are you doing here?"

"What?" and she got the Keyblade, "Who's there?" Then, a dark-brown doberman showed up, he had a strange collar around his neck.

"I'm the one who does the questions!" the dog replied. "Identify yourself!" the dog demanded, growling and showing his teeth.

"A talking dog?" Heather said, "Whatever. I shouldn't be impressed," and she put herself in an offensive stance, "I'm taking no orders from a mutt!"

"It's your choice," and he jumped at her, barking menaciously. Heather dodged the attack and tried to stab him, but he also avoided and jumped at her again. This time, the tackle was successful, but he couldn't manage to bite her.

"Hmm... the mangy talking dog is sticky," Heather commented and delivered a straight blow, "How about this?" she knocked the dog away and this only made him growl angrier. He tried to bite her again, but the only thing he bit was the Keyblade. He felt a big pain at his teeth, and Heather attacked him, hitting the collar.

"Oh no!" the dog uttered, now with a squeaky, funny voice, "What did you do? You broke my collar. Master will punish you!" and he fled. Heather also walked away, laughing, "That dog, he thinks he's so fearless, but with that voice... Hahaha... and sounds like my fun session won't end soon," she said this looking to a walking stump that had the same trousers that Harold was wearing, "It's obvious that it's Harold!" the stump hit a tree and was parted in two, showing a dizzy Harold, muttering, "Where's my Thomas the Tank Engine pillow?"

"Get up!" and she gave him a light kick.

"Oww... Heather," he tried to talk, still dizzy, "What had happened? I only remember being in the ship..."

"It's your fault! That's the only thing that matters!"

"Okay, maybe pressing that button wasn't a good idea after all..."

"Get up, now!" and gave him another light kick.

"Okay, gosh!"

"Let's hurry up, we need to find the duck and the dog, only they can make us off here. This jungle can ruin my make-up."

"No, we must find LeShawna, I know she's here!"

Heather rolled her eyes and walked off, ignoring him. Harold had no other option but to follow her.

Meanwhile, Donald and Goofy were sitting on a rock, thinking about how they would complete their mission.

"Gawrsh, where are we? I sure hope Heather and Harold are okay." Goofy said.

"Aw, who needs them? We can find the king without them." Donald replied, upset. "That girl is so annoying and that boy only thinks in this lasagna-girl..."

"I think that's LeShawna..."

"Whatever... Look I'm even starting to talk like Heather!"

Then, a big and colorful bird poked him with the beak. "Huh?" Donald freaked out, along with the bird, and took a look at the animal. The bird opened her mouth and regurgitated something at Donald shirt, a gummi block.

"Yuck! Hey, isn't that..." suddenly the bird became aware of something and ran away. Three dogs, a doberman, a rottweiler and a bulldog, followed her, ignoring Donald and Goofy.

"Let's get back to the gummi ship," Goofy said, "Donald do you have the communicator?"

"Of course I have! But first I need to clean up the gummi block. This is so gross..."

At the dusk, everyone managed to arrive at where the gummi ship crashed. Beth and Justin fell next to the crash site and were helping Chip and Dale to repair the ship (Justin obviously was doing the light work). Donald and Goofy were the next, and Heather and Harold came last.

"Finally, where have you been?" Beth asked.

Harold and Donald shook their hands friendly, but, after, they frowned, crossed their arms and looked away. Goofy gave them an unhappy look and Heather said to him, "What's up? I do this everytime."

"Thanks to Heather, we got lost and had to fight with a bunch of Heartless," Harold explained, "They have a new kind of monkey Heartless. It looked like The Planet of the Apes." Heather slapped Harold's head, again.

"I don't want to hear sci-fi drivel, and why didn't you tell me earlier that you've been a scout?"

"I was trying to say that..."

"I took some scratches from those monkey Heartless, my make-up is more than ruined, my nape is itching," she rubbed her nape and kept talking, "and I need a shower."

"Non-core systems are not fixed," Chip said.

"You have to wait," Dale added.

"Oh, c'mon! Move forward!" Heather crossed her arms, "I need or take a shower or leave this green hell! Any option for me is good!"

Donald and Harold shouted at the same time, "We're staying!" they were still annoyed with each other.

"What?" Heather said, surprised.

"Heather, look what we found," and Goofy showed her a gummi block, "It's the same stuff used to build our ship."

"So that means we're going to stay, sighs..."

"The king could be here. So, we've gotta work together to look for him. For now."

"And so LeShawna," Harold replied, still frowning, "Fine. I'll let you tag along. For now."

"Umm... it's better we start our searches at the next morning." Goofy remarked, "Let's rest for the moment."

"Maybe we should check something very unusual we saw earlier," Harold said, "A floating house, going that direction," and he pointed to a rocky formation.

"Gawrsh! A floating house?"

"Yeah, it was floating with hundreds and hundreds of balloons, how does she do that, I don't know, but we saw her, right Heather?"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, now can I enter the ship to pick my make-up case?"

"And get the tents. Two, at least!" Harold added, still scowling at Donald, who replied, "Yeah, two at least." Everyone didn't comment their attitude.

They ate sandwiches at the dinner and went sleep, Chip and Dale in their special room inside the gummi ship, Donald, Goofy and Jiminy Cricket in one tent, Harold and Justin in another, Heather and Beth in the last one.

"Don't worry," Beth said, looking at two photos, one of her family, and other from her boyfriend, "You'll be fine in no time."

"Are you talking to photos?" Heather asked, sarcastically.

"So so," she giggled, "C'mon, Heather, don't you have anyone to care for?"

"Go sleep!" she mumbled.

"Even your mother?"

No answer.

"C'mon Heather, your mother is the only person you seem actually like."

"sighs... If you want to know, my mom is different from other persons. She's not like the mindless lackeys surrounding me at the school, she dares to say no to me, like the time I asked for her hair... she slept next to her taser in that days..."

"Heather," Beth replied, unimpressed, "Everyone in the island say no to you…"

"But she still cares with me…"

"She's your mother, right?"

"Yeah... Sleep NOW!" and no more words were traded.

In the next morning, everyone woke up. Heather complaining as usual, Harold exercising with his nunchakus, Beth and Goofy preparing the breakfast, Justin staring himself for half an hour, and Donald talking with Chip and Dale about the ship. When they finished the preparations, Heather, Harold, Donald and Goofy left the site and walked their way through the jungle.

After one hour, no progress was made. Everyone started to get restless.

"One hour!" Heather mumbled, "It's obvious we won't find anything at this jungle, only jungle stuff," and then four Powerwilds and one Bouncywild appeared. Heather looked surprised and smirked, "They were being long to appear..."

The Powerwilds advance at their direction, jumping and scratching everything with their claws, or delivering a low kick, while the Bouncywild was throwing banana peels. Harold got one, and fell on the ground, "Ouch! That's the oldest joke ever!" They were hasty, and dealt some damage to the group, but Heather decided to test the Sonic Blade. They learnt why the technique was called 'Sonic Blade'; she managed to attack the enemies with seven successive and strong attacks, defeating two and badly damaging a third, which was finished by Goofy. Donald attacked the Bouncywild with Fire, Blizzard and Thunder and Harold destroyed the last Powerwild, with a succession of nunchakus hits.

"That guy knows some neat moves, huh?" Heather commented, "I think I'll enjoy this."

"Move! We don't have time to lose, LeShawna is somewhere in this jungle." Harold said.

More two hours passed by, five Heartless ambushes, two times they had to run away from angry bees, one time Harold fell on a pit, nothing was going accord to plan.

"What happened to the plan?" Heather asked, slapping her forehead.

"C'mon, I know we can find her!" Harold replied, with strong will.

"Oh, come on! Why don't you forget her?" Donald asked, impatient.

"Forget?" and he started to swing his nunchakus, "Don't you understand? She could be right there, waving to us… And she is?" Much to his excitement, LeShawna was there, smiling and waving to them, and she pointed to a direction and ran away.

"LeShawna! Waaait!" and Harold went running at her. The others followed him.

"Harold, wait! Don't you think it's strange?" Heather tried to talk with him, but he wasn't listening to anything. Their hurry attracted attention of some dogs.

They followed LeShawna to a glade, where they stopped.

"Where's LeShawna? She was here a while ago." Harold wondered, crying her name, "LeShawna!"

"Harold, you..." before Heather could insult him, she fell on the ground with a dart in his butt.

"Ha! Take that aga…" and got shot too.

"Look ou..." Goofy also was shot, and so Donald. Everyone passed out.

After some time, they woke up, they were stuck in a net, being carried by many dogs.

"Hey, where are we?" Donald asked.

"You four are our prisoners now!" said a gray bulldog, "Master shall see you."

"What do you mean with 'prisoner'?" Heather complained, "I demand freedom! You understand? I wanna leave, I..." and she was shot with another dart. The dog pack and even Harold, Donald and Goofy sighed in relief.

They were taken to a wide, rocky area with a great cavern, together with another group of dogs, escorting their own prisoners: an old man, with a brown jacket, a red butterfly tie, brown belt and shoes, with grey trousers, walking with a cane, and boy, with his yellow scout uniform, holding a sash, filled with various kinds of badges. They were 'bringing' their house with them. Alpha, the doberman who faced Heather earlier was leading them and growled when he looked at the silver-wigged girl.

The dogs surrounded both groups of prisoners. Soon, the owner of the dogs showed up, it was also an old man, taller, with a leather jacket, looking like a pilot, also holding a cane, cloaked by the shadow of the cave, and ordered the dogs to stay quiet. He looked to the floating house and asked, "You came here... in that?"

The other old man answered with a clumsy "yeah", which made the questioner burst out in laughs, with everyone following, but Alpha, who was staring at the prisoner, without moving.

"That's the darnest thing I've ever seen!" and the dog's owner directed himself to Heather's group, "And you? In a flying bakery?" and continued laughing, even though he believed they were only one group, while asked them, "You're not after my bird, aren't ya? But if you need to borrow a cup of sugar, I'd be happy to oblige!"

"You can stay with this bird, if you'd like," Heather suggested, holding Donald collar.

The dog's owner laughed more yet and said, "Well, this is all a misunderstanding, my dogs made a mistake," and he walked to the light.

The old man became surprise and asked gleefully, "Wait! Are you Charles Muntz?"

"Well," he cleared his throat and confirmed with a "yes".

The old man couldn't believe her eyes, "The Charles Muntz?"

"Adventure is out there!"

"It's really him. That's Charles Muntz!"

"It is?" the other prisoners, including the boy and Heather's group, replied, and the boy asked, "Who's Charles Muntz?"

"Him! I'm Carl Fredricksen. My wife and I, we were your biggest fans." And he approached to shake his hands.

"Oh, well, you're a man of good taste," and they laughed along. "Now you must be tired. Hungry?" and they boy nodded.

"Hey," Heather said, still stuck in the net, "What about me?"

"You mean us, didn't you?" Harold mumbled.

"Right..."

Then he stretched his arms and ordered, "Attention, everyone! These people are no longer intruders. They are our guests!" all the dogs, but Alpha, cheered, freed Heather's group, and took everyone to the cave, where they'd enter at Muntz's dirigible, "The Spirit of Adventure".

"Wow!" Harold said, thrilled, "It's look like the USS Akron. They could carry even airplanes!" Heather stared him blankly and glared at Alpha, who glared back.

"You bet, son!" Muntz replied, "Wanna take a look?"

"Oh, please! I never entered in such a big dirigible!"

"So, Mr. Fredricksen," Donald asked, "are you from this world?"

"Actually no, I used my house to travel to another worlds to keep a promise I made long ago."

"Did you use gummi blocks?"

"No, what's that?"

"Can I see your house, if you don't mind?"

"Sure, take a look on her," and Carl Fredricksen anchored his house and allowed Donald and Goofy to see the house. They climbed by the hose and entered inside.

Carl was thrilled, it looked like he rejuvenate some years. He, the boy, named Russell, Harold and Heather entered aboard the dirigible. Russell and Harold soon became friends, talking about scouting; the boy was very happy to know an experienced elder scout.

In the ship, they passed through some kind of personal museum, containing various rare types of fossils and skeletons exposed, and Muntz fixed up Alpha's collar. The doberman tried to say something, but his master said to wait for later. Alpha and Heather exchanged glares again. They proceeded to the dinning room, afterwards. Harold and Russell were amazed with the dogs; they could do anything any human could do, clean, serve drinks, cook, and so on.

As Carl and Muntz were busy, talking like two old friends, about Ellie's dream and Muntz looked pleased to have know Carl and the others, and the dogs were stealing Russell's food, Heather and Harold were eating, and talking under their breathes, "Harold, don't think that Muntz is strange?"

"Why do you think this, Heather?" he replied, chewing his food.

"He's being too nice... I don't like it."

"Maybe because you aren't nice..."

After calming down his dogs, he commented, "Having guests is a DELIGHT! More often I get thieves trying to steal what is rightfully mine."

After gain Carl and Harold attention, Heather was more concentrated on watching the dogs, and Russell on saving his dinner, he picked the lighter and showed them a big bird-like skeleton. Carl was without words and Harold looked interested. Next, he explained he was deemed as a fraud and tried for years after years to capture a live specimen of the giant flightless bird, but he failed over and over. It could be inferred by his words he'd do anything to catch the bird.

Then, Russell lost his all his dinner, and commented with all the innocence of a child, "Hey, that looks like Kevin!"

Muntz, glanced at him, "Kevin?"

"Yeah, that's my new giant pet bird." Carl gasped, Heather and Harold also weren't very amused with the situation.

"Follow you?" he and Alpha exchanged looks and asked, "Impossible. How?"

"She likes chocolate," and he showed his chocolate bar.

Carl tried to say that the "pet" was gone, with Heather and Harold agreeing, even though they didn't know what the talk was about.

Charles Muntz gave them a severe look and, after, an evil grin, "You know Carl, these people who pass through here, they tell pretty good stories," put the lighter on a desk, "A surveyor making a map," and he knocked down a bust, wearing goggles, with his cane, "a botanist cataloguing plants," and he knocked another, "a lost funny youngster," and he knocked other, which had a cowboy's hat, "an old man taking his house to Paradise Falls," obviously referring to Carl Fredricksen story and, if he didn't manage to escape quickly from the dirigible, his story would meet his end.

Heather and Harold became worried too, he gulped, "Wasn't that..." and she completed, "Geoff's hat?"

Distracted by Kevin's cry, when Donald was ordering Kevin to get out the roof, Muntz let them escape. "Get them!" was the last thing they heard inside the ship.

They quickly left the ship and got the house. Harold took Carl on his shoulders and Heather helped Russell, since they could run faster. From above, Goofy asked, "Hey, fellas, what's going on?"

"No time to explain," Heather cried as a big pack of dogs was amassing behind them.

A golden retriever with the infamous "cone of shame" over his neck, named Dug, told them to follow him. With all exits blocked, trust him was the only option. They descended, jumping down the rocks, with dogs following.

Kevin finally got down from the roof, and put them on her back. She was strong enough to maintain good speed and support their weight. Heather summoned the Keyblade and started to drive off nearby dogs. Russell accidentally fell out Kevin and almost got bitten by a dog and was dragged away. Harold tried to help him, but he lost his balance and also got dragged away. He had to hang on the hose too. Dug helped them, causing a little rockfall that slowed down the dogs. They fled through an unstable rocky formation until a precipice. Kevin had to stop, and dogs were closing in. Everyone, including Dug, hung on to Kevin and jumped through. Alpha, being the most tenacious, also jumped and chomped Kevin's leg. In spite of, Alpha fell down, and they reached the other rock, they were safe now.

Kevin was badly hurt in the leg, and Donald gave her a potion, while Russell bind up her leg. Kevin didn't recover immediately after taking the potion.

"This potion must have a different effect on Kevin, it takes longer to work, but she'll be fine," he explained. Kevin, hearing her chicks, tried to walk, but she couldn't move.

"She's hurt real bad," Russell said, "Can't we help her get home?" Carl looked worried, he had other plans, while Harold said, "Of course, that's the duty of a master scout!"

"But, Harold, we don't have time!" Heather protested.

"No, it's the right thing we can do, right Donald." Goofy said.

"Yeah," he muttered, unwilling.

"All right," Carl agreed, "But we gotta hurry." Russell smiled at them.

"Fine," Heather agreed too, crossing her arms, "The jungle is loaded of Heartless, you'll be toast without me." Harold rolled his eyes, almost saying "us, Heather," but he knew that was useless.

"What's a Heartless?" Russell asked.

"Let's move," Donald said, "We explain as we walk."


	19. Monster in Monstro

A.N.: Here goes the 19th chapter. I made some modifications (in the game Monstro has a weird anatomy) and changed something at the recap, it wasn't going as expected. Next update will take a bit longer due to homework deadline.

* * *

_Last time on Total Drama Worlds: After being stuck in a medieval world, Heather and her allies, moved by Donald's greed, went forth to a grim castle only to almost die. But they were saved by Duncan and his new friends, Shrek and Donkey. There, working for Farquaad, they help them to save a princess from the clutches of a vicious dragon, but, after that, our princess discovers that her savior is an ogre, much to her displeasure. Anyway, after getting along our couple discovers that they have more in common than they expected. They almost hit on each other until Fiona __reveals her secret to Donkey and Heather, temporally ending their relationship. After a while, and many Heartless and quarreling, Heather and Donkey help Shrek to fight for his beloved. They arrived at the chapel in the right hour and Shrek fought with Farquaad and some Heartless only to learn that his beloved one is an ogress too. They showed their love for each other, the strangest couple ever, and kissed. But Farquaad didn't give up; he drank a bottle, given by Maleficent and transformed into a giant enemy crab, seriously why it had to be a giant enemy crab? Anyway, Heather and her allies fought an uneasy battle and managed to defeat him, but Fiona was seen in nowhere, afterwards. Where Fiona could be? Where are they going today? Where can I find an intergalactic tow service, after that dragon hit my ship? Find out in TOTAL... DRAMA... WORLDS!_

Some time after they let Far Far Away, they were traveling through the space, when Heartless ships were closing in the royal gummi ship.

"Donald, do something!" Heather snapped.

"Wait, the enemy ships are bypassing us," Goofy said, aiming at them, "I just wonder why..." The enemy ships didn't attack them; actually it looked like they were in a hurry.

"Hmm, strange," Harold rubbed his chin, "They completely ignored us."

Suddenly, the radar started to blink wildly. A massive point appeared and was heading for their direction.

"There's something huge in the radar!" Donald nervously shouted as the giant point approached closer yet. The 'beep' sound became more and more fast, like a heart beating accelerated and finally became visible to the very eyes.

"What is that?" Donald asked, rubbing his eyes.

"Wow, it's huge!" Heather commented, open-mouthed. It was a huge white whale, passing through the space like it was a sea, almost hitting the royal gummi ship.

"It's a giant whale!" Goofy cried, holding his head with his hands.

"It's Monstro!" Jiminy, the Cricket got up from his chair, where he was compiling and writing his diary when he saw the giant whale, "He's a whale of a whale, and vicious besides!"

"He's returning! Brace yourselves!" Harold screamed as the whale made a u-turn in the space and went to them, opening his mouth.

"Whoa! Let's get outta here!" Donald said, trying to maneuver the ship.

"Too late!" Heather hollered, "He's going to swallow us!"

And so the whale did. The impact made the ship lost its energy and Heather bonked her head on the wall, falling unconscious. When her unconscious state ended, she was sleeping and had a dream. Actually, it wasn't a proper dream, but a flashback. There she was, on her bedroom, lying down on her bed. She was 10 years old, and was fatty, her face was full of pimples and had a huge brace on her teeth. Her mother was also there.

"Today in the school, they made me eat a bug, that was disgusting," tiny Heather said with a sad tone, showing his tongue, and asked "Why everybody teases me, mom?"

"Don't worry, you're special, Heather. Someday they will realize they're wrong and stop doing this," her mother kindly answered.

"They will?" she asked back, with a bit of glee.

"I'm sure," she kissed her daughter's forehead and said, "Now, you need to go sleep. Good night, princess."

"Good night, mom," and she leaned her head in the pillow, smirking and whispering to herself, "I'll make sure they will..."

She opened her eyes and saw the gummi ship downed, piles of wood and what looked like the remains of a boat at the other side of the mouth of the whale. Donald was impatiently knocking the mouth of the whale. "Knock it off!" he shouted. Goofy was with him, also staring the giant teeth of the whale.

"Get up!" Duncan said, as he gave her a light kick, but, before he hit, she grabbed his leg, warning, "I'd rather don't do this."

"Fine," he answered, somewhat worried, and she let him go.

"So, you finally woke up," Harold said, before being hit by a small treasure chest and fainting.

"Hey, Heather," Goofy said, "Are you okay?"

"Ow," she rubbed her forehead, "I think I have a bruise," then she changed to a bossy tone, "What are you guys doing? Where are we, anyway?" and she was almost hit by another chest.

"Uhm, ya know," Goofy said, uneasy, "I think that big ol' whale Monstro just swallowed us," he put his shield over his head, "And for today's weather: expect showers," a chest hit the shield, "Heavy showers!"

"You're as funnier as Doris," Duncan scoffed.

Donald, who was impatient, saw something moving on a high pile of wood and yelled, "Hey! Who's there?"

"It's me." It was Pinocchio, the wooden talking puppet. He answered ingenuously and picked up a big gummi block from the big chest which was on the top of the pile and walked away.

"Oh, it's just Pinocchio," Donald said, recovering his cool. Then, he blinked and said "Pinocchio!?"

"Wait, Pinocchio?" Jiminy Cricket jumped from his usual spot and went to Heather's shoulder, since she was taller than the others. She didn't seem pleased and passed by her mind to crush him like the tiny bug he was, but she decided to ignore him. "Pinocch, where are you going? Pinocch!" Jiminy tried to call his attention, but it didn't work, he was too far to hear his buggy voice. Seeing this wouldn't work, he tried to talk with Donald and Goofy, "Come on, everybody! After him! Quick!" and Donald and Goofy rushed to where Pinocchio was going, the shipwreck. Heather crossed her arms and followed them, walking slowly and Duncan dragged Harold by the leg, making sure he was going through rocks, wooden plates and water.

In the remains of the ship, there was an old man, wearing a white shirt and dark-green trousers and brown boots. He had white hair and spectacles over his round nose. The shipwreck had a bed and a commode and, over it, an aquarium with a goldfish. In a shelf, there was a little black cat sleeping. The old man saw Pinocchio arriving with the gummi block and asked, "What have you got there, Pinocchio?"

He happily answered, "With this, we can get out of here, Father." In fact, it wasn't a lie, because his nose didn't grow up, but he didn't know what he should with it.

The old and gave a good look at the block and asked again, "Really? With this big block? You think so?"

"Hey," they heard a voice and saw Jiminy, "Pinocchio, you finally stopped," he said, gasping, "You're pretty fast."

"Jiminy, so you're here too," the old man said.

"Yeah, and I brought some people," the cricket said.

"Pinocchio, you little brat, how did you end up here?" Heather asked, in her 'normal' way and they climbed up to the shipwreck. Duncan threw Harold on the floor and he jerked and woke up.

"Gosh!" he got up, rubbing his head, "Why's my jaw hurting?" and he gave a slight glare to Duncan, "And why I do think you have something to do with this?"

"C'mon, I made you a favor," Duncan 'innocently' replied.

"Oh, my," the old man stated, "So the whale swallowed all of you, too? My goodness."

"Yeah, looks like it," Heather replied, nonchalant.

He, then, introduced himself, "My name is Geppetto. I'm Pinocchio's father. When we got separated, I traveled all over, looking for him. Thank goodness we're together again." Pinocchio nodded and glanced at someone running into a chamber and went check. Nobody noticed at first, Gepetto was busy talking about his journey to find his son.

"So, you seem to know Pinocchio quite well," he said, as he moved the gummi block to other part, "I hope he was a good boy in my absence. Well, we've all had quite a journey. Right, Pinocchio? Pinocchio?" and the boy were seen in nowhere.

"Oh, no," Jiminy said, worried, "Something had just happened."

"Again," Gepetto sighed, "I think he went to the chambers, inside Monstro. Please, go find him," he begged.

"Yeah, right," Heather said, nonchalant and not very cooperative.

"I have an idea," said Harold, snapping his fingers, "If we enter into the whale, we could make somewhat puke us out."

"That's disgusting, but it may work," Donald agreed.

"But, be careful," Geppetto warned, "There's some monsters beyond that crevice."

"Monster in Monstro," Harold joked, "Got it?" and he was slapped in the head by Heather and Duncan.

"So, let's go," Heather sighed again and the group entered the throat. It wasn't hard to find Pinocchio, he was in the chamber, carefree.

"Pinocchio, you spoiled wooden brat!" Heather snapped, and Pinocchio turned his head to them, and he didn't seem worried, "What are you doing? Let's go back, now!"

Goofy, trying to more friendly, cried, "You know, Geppetto's awfully worried about you."

"Yeah," Harold added, "He was separated from you and wouldn't lose you again for anything."

"Pinocchio, stop fooling around! This is no time for games!" Heather screamed, stomping on the floor.

"But, Heather, I thought you liked games," they heard someone talk. When they gave a better look, it was LeShawna. She was next to Pinocchio, and he didn't seem bothered with her. She, then, continued, "Or are you too cool to play them now that you have the _Keyblade? _

"LeShawna!" Heather said, with a surprised look, and continued, crossing her arms, "For your business, I like games where I win."

"LeShawna, you are here," Harold stated, with his eyes beaming and holding together his hands.

"You bet, sugar," she replied with a smile and then glared to Duncan, "You better not be picking on my boy."

"Don't worry," Duncan grinned and gave Harold a slightly harsh noggie, "He'll be ok." It's needless to say that Harold didn't like it, he noticed Duncan's subliminal message when he voiced 'he' different from usual.

"Anyway, what are you doing here, LeShawna?" Heather asked.

"Just playing with Pinocchio," she nonchalantly answered.

"Do you know something, LeShawna?" Heather asked again, impatient. "I mean, look to us. I have to stick with these," she stopped for a while, tapped her chin with her finger, making a thoughtful instance, "life forms to find keyholes and this bullshit of defeat darkness, and I have to go with this piece of shiny metal, I just doing this because..."

"Maybe," LeShawna interrupted her, since everyone was starting to get annoyed, "Catch us and maybe I'll tell you what I know." She, then, grabbed Pinocchio's arm and ran toward a passage.

"Wait, LeShawna!" Harold cried, following her, but he was stopped by Heartless. Floating Search Ghosts, six of them, with their glowing eyes, ready to attack with their claws.

"Nice gift, LeShawna," Heather sarcastically said aloud and readied the Keyblade. Donald attacked first, with Thunder, following with Blizzara. Goofy attacked one, ramming into it and Duncan got another spinning his sword. Harold tried to hit one with his nunchakus, but the enemy glowed and disappeared. He closed his eyes and, still swinging his nunchakus, concentrating himself. When the enemy reappeared behind him, he moved his right arm in a glance and struck the nunchakus against it, sending him to Goofy, who defeated him with a hit from his shield. Heather leapt and hit other Search Ghost with an aerial combo and attacked another with various hits and she defeated both with little effort.

"I think they're gone for now," Goofy said, tapping his chin with his finger.

"As would say the great nunchaku master Pan Ca Ke, never let your nunchakus stop swinging," Harold proudly stated.

"Move out!" Heather ordered and they passed to another chamber.

"I think this must be a maze," Harold said, looking at the chamber, which had more than one passage, "And we're not alone."

More enemies showed up. Various Shadows started to attack them. They took a few hits, but managed to get rid of them. Afterwards, they explored the interior of the whale, looking for Pinocchio or some way to make Monstro spit the gummi ship, fighting their way against Shadows, Air Soldiers, Large Body, and a fair amount of Heartless. They took some hits but their stock of potions was enough for everyone. They also found a summon gem and Donald stowed in their item bag. But, they couldn't notice that Maleficent was also there, in the sixth chamber talking with LeShawna.

"Why do you still care about that girl?" Maleficent sorely asked.

"I don't care with her," LeShawna thought for a while and sighed, "Why Harold can't join us?"

"He will join us in the right time," Maleficent replied, and continued, "But don't forget that Heather is not your friend, she has deserted you and will desert him in no time."

LeShawna looked down; she could barely believe in Maleficent words. She always cared about her friends, even if her friend was the complainer queen bee, Heather. Then she upped her head and glared at Maleficent. She dismissively replied, "Beware the darkness in your heart. The Heartless prey upon it," and entered through a portal.

"Mind your own business!" LeShawna cried, irritated.

"Look, Pinocchio is going there," Goofy shouted. Pinocchio ran away, passing by LeShawna. The others were again surprised.

"I'm such a lucky guy," Harold gleefully exclaimed, "I saw LeShawna two times a day."

"Okay, LeShawna," Heather said, holding her hands on her hips, "What's the matter with you? What are you thinking? Don't you realize what you're doing?"

"I was about to ask you the same thing, Heather," LeShawna answered, frowning at her, "You only seem interested in running around and showing off that Keyblade these days. Do you even want to save our friends?"

"I don't," she replied, nonchalant. LeShawna was impressed with her coldness and only opened her mouth, without words. Actually, Harold, Donald, Goofy and even Duncan were without words too.

"Um, Heather, I think you went overboard," Duncan said, with a bit of concern. Even he was ready to fight for their friends.

Suddenly Heather started to feel again the itchy feeling in her nape. The feeling was so intense, and everyone stared blankly at her because she was heavily scratching her nape, and this made her finally conceded, "If they cross my path, maybe I'll help them. Now, let's move out, that stupid wooden boy went that way," she said, pointing to a passage and the feeling stopped.

They entered at the chamber and this was a bit different. They saw Pinocchio, but he was stuck inside a big purple Heartless, with two blue tentacles and staring the group with his eerie yellow eyes, the Parasite Cage.

"Help me!" Pinocchio cried, holding the 'bars'.

"Yo' up to this?" LeShawna asked, with a deadpan voice.

"No problem," Heather replied, readying the Keyblade, "Let's do it!"

"Hmph, let's see you fighting," LeShawna replied back.

Heather jumped and attacked the Heartless and so did LeShawna. Donald cast Blizzara and Duncan dodged its tentacle and thrusted his sword at it. Harold didn't have much luck and got hit by the other tentacle and Goofy helped him to stand up. Heather backed off and summoned Woody. The woodpecker attacked with his beak the head of the Heartless, causing a great deal of damage that also distracted the creature, allowing everyone attacking it. Donald cast Fira and the enemy seemed more startled than usual.

"Hey, I think he's weak to fire!" Donald shouted.

"So, let's go," Heather said. She summoned Donkey and he arrived, grinning.

"Donkey here, ready to rock," he said and looked to the enemy. "Waaa, what do you want from me?"

"Donkey, do your magic!" Heather hollered at him.

"Oh, yes," and he started to jig over the area and, every time he jigged, he dropped an ether ball that restored Heather's magic power. She could shot fire spells at the enemy at will.

"Take this and this and this!" she said, shooting Fira at it. The creature finally retreat, and spit Pinocchio in a pit before going away.

"Wait!" LeShawna said as she jumped in the pit.

"LeShawna!" Harold cried and also jumped in the pit. Heather sighed and jumped too, with the others following.

They traveled through the arteries and reached the mouth again. After landing on Gepetto's shipwreck, they looked that Gepetto was on the other side. He was saying, "Pinocchio! Pinocchio!" by his tone of voice, he was very worried, "Please! Give back my son!"

"Uhm, what's happening, Gepetto?" Donald asked. He only pointed to a wood pile. LeShawna was there, holding Pinocchio and he seemed unconscious.

"Sorry, ol' man," she replied, "I have some unfinished business with this puppet."

"He's no puppet," Gepetto shouted, about to cry, "Pinocchio is my little boy!"

"Yeah, he's unusual," LeShawna replied, with some guilt on his voice, "Not many puppets have hearts. I'm not sure, but maybe he can help someone who's lost theirs."

"Wait a minute," Heather meddled, "What are you talking about, LeShawna?"

"What do you care?" she replied, irritated, going away with Pinocchio.

"Why?" Gepetto fell to ground, reduced to tears, "My Pinocchio... after so much time separated, he's taken from me again...."

Harold patted his shoulder and tried to comfort him, "Look, LeShawna is not evil. I'm sure there's a good explanation for this." Gepetto kept crying, "We'll talk to her and recover Pinocchio, I'm sure it's all a misunderstanding," Gepetto finally stopped crying and got up.

"Would you do this?" Gepetto asked, with his filled with hope.

"I..." Heather tried to say something, but was interrupted by Harold.

"You can count on us!" he said, making a possum scout instance.

"We're on this," Duncan said, readying his sword, smirking, "LeShawna is gonna pay," then he received a bad glare from Harold. He remembered from the last time he tarnished LeShawna and said, "I mean, aham, we'll bring Pinocchio back, right guys?" Donald and Goofy nodded, while Heather crossed her arms and rolled her eyes.

"So, where they must be now?" Heather asked, indifferent.

"They went through the throat," Gepetto said, point to a passage over the first they went through.

"So, let's go!" Harold said and they ran on to the throat. Arriving there, they had to battle Air Soldiers and Shadows. They delayed Heather's group for a while, but they managed to dispose them of. Now, they went to the stomach, where they found LeShawna and Pinocchio.

"Hey, LeShawna, what's the deal with the wooden boy?" Heather asked.

"A puppet that's lost its heart to the Heartless," LeShawna said, looking to the unconscious Pinocchio, "Maybe it holds the key to helping someone."

"Who?"

"Who? I thought you didn't care," then LeShawna elevated her voice, "You're always being egoist and mean, even after almost dyin'. Don't you learn anything?"

"What's the problem with putting myself in the first place," Heather nonchalantly replied and tried to warrant herself, "The most important person in the world for me it's myself."

LeShawna slapped her forehead and snapped, "Know what? I was going to offer you to work together, but now you can forget that. I can't understand, Harold, why are you on her side?"

Jiminy took advantage of her distraction and rushed toward Pinocchio. He tried to wake him up, "Pinocchio! Pinocchio!"

The wooden boy opened his eyes, and mumbled some words, "Jiminy... I'm not gonna make it," then, his nose grew up and this made both of them happy, "Oh! I guess I'm okay!"

"Uhm, LeShawna," Harold said, scratching the back of his head, "Don't you think that taking Pinocchio is a bit extreme? Look, Gepetto's awfully blue with this situation."

"What? But I'm doing this for a good reason," LeShawna replied, surprised with Harold's attitude.

"Heart or no heart, at least he still has a conscience," Harold tried to reason with her.

"Conscience?"

"LeShawna, I think it's wrong steal Pinocchio."

"But I - hey!" she talked when she saw Jiminy and Pinocchio getting away. At the same time, the Parasite Cage showed up, hanging by the upper part of the stomach. LeShawna left the scene discreetly, through a portal. Everyone readied their weapons and waited for an opportunity to attack the Heartless.

"Be careful," Harold said, "I think he's stronger."

Donald cast Fira, but the enemy didn't seem to suffer much damage. "Fire attacks aren't very effective anymore," the duck said.

"So, let's take over a big chunk of his energy," and Heather summoned Woody Woodpecker again. He used his crusher beak technique again and, this time, the damage wasn't as great as the last time. Heather approached and attacked with an aerial combo and Goofy with his ramming shield attack. The enemy retaliated and charged with its entire body, hitting them and used his tentacles to hit Donald and Duncan. Harold avoided and attacked with his nunchakus. Duncan got up and shoved his sword in the enemy, while Heather cast Fira. The enemy retaliated again and, after this, Heather cast Cure on herself and Duncan got a potion. Goofy protected himself of the tentacle and Donald cast Fira. When Heather tried to approach again, the enemy exhaled a fetid green gas that poisoned Heather.

"Cough..." she hacked and kneeled to the ground, and the Parasite Cage charged at her, sending her against the wall. She claimed, "Donald, use your magic, cough... I can't deplete mine!" The duck sighed and healed her. While she was being healed, Harold used his dancing nunchakus technique and Goofy his tornado technique and this made the enemy become startled. Everyone joined to attack what looked like its uvula, specially Heather, who seemed very angry.

"This will teach you," she said as she stab the uvula, "To not mess with me, cretin Heartless!" Donald was casting Thunder, Harold was attacking with his nunchakus, Goofy was using his tornado and Duncan was shoving his sword. The creature recovered its senses and used its tentacle to shove them away. Duncan hit the wall and fainted and Goofy almost fainted, but he couldn't keep fighting. Harold attacked with his nunchakus, but the enemy charged at him, sending him against the wall too, and he also fainted. Donald backed off and healed Goofy and Duncan, but his magic was depleted and Goofy used a potion on Harold. As they were healing the wounds, Heather attacked alone the enemy. When the Parasite Cage exhale poison gas, Heather cast Aero and this protected her from being poisoned and she used Sonic Blade at the enemy. After this, the enemy was dazed again, and Heather shoved the uvula with all her might. After a hit, the Heartless emitted a screech and fell on the ground, with a heart coming out from it. The enemy was finally defeated.

"Man, I gotta admit," Duncan said, "She has guts."

Suddenly the stomach started to shake.

"Good Harold, now you have your big puke," Heather said.

"LeShawna, where are you?" Harold shouted.

They ran to the gummi ship at the mouth. Geppetto, Pinocchio and the others also climbed in. And they quickly entered at the ship. Monstro opened his mouth and puked the gummi ship near Far Far Away.

"Well, that worked," Harold said, proud of himself.

"Pinocchio, you're fine," Gepetto said as he hugged Pinocchio.

"Now, let's go to Traverse Town," Goofy said, "I'm sure that Scott can find you a house."

"Let's go now!" Heather shouted, "After that stomach adventure, I need urgently a shower!"

"See, Gepetto, it was just a misunderstanding, LeShawna returned Pinocchio safely," Harold lied. He didn't want to reveal the truth, after all he couldn't understand why LeShawna was acting so strange. Actually, she was with a much stranger and evil figure.

"So, Izzy's like a lifeless puppet now?" LeShawna asked Maleficent. They were inside a ship, staring at the unconscious Izzy's body.

"Precisely," Maleficent calmly replied.

"No, I can't let her stay like this. Her heart was..."

"Taken by the Heartless, no doubt."

"Why didn't yo' ordered the Heartless to avoid her?" LeShawna snapped.

"When the Heartless see reckless hearts, there's nothing I can do," Maleficent replied, without losing her calmness.

LeShawna looked down for a moment and asked Maleficent, "Tell me! What can I do?"

Maleficent smirked and explained, "There are eight maidens of the purest heart. We call them the princesses of heart. Gather them together, and a door will open to the heart of all worlds. Within lies untold wisdom. There you will surely find a way to recover Izzy's heart. Now, I'll grant you a marvelous gift. The power to control the Heartless." The opened her arms wide and made a deep green aura surround LeShawna.

After that, LeShawna could feel her new power, she was feeling stronger. "The ones who took Izzy's heart now obey me... good," she thought and said, "Soon Izzy, soon."


	20. The Pegasus Cup

**A.N.**: The cream-thing was based in an actual event with a friend of mine. Unlike Heather, it wasn't an accident or a prank. Answering DorktorK (I couldn't pm him, since he's posting as an anonymus): I took a while to answer about your first comment because I have never watched Nightmare Before Christmas before (when I played KH, I was kinda oblivious). That was a very neat movie. The songs were context specific, but I can do something. About Duncan, I was thinking about that before, he, Sadie and another camper will return at later parts as fighters.

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_Last time on Total Drama Worlds. Our heroes, and Heather, were swallowed by the big whale Monstro, who somehow survived to the destruction of Pinocchio's world. There, they found Pinocchio and his 'father', Geppetto. Curiosity killed the cat and this wasn't different with Pinocchio, after being captured by Parasite Cage. Heather finds LeShawna, unaware of her new 'friend' and they cooperate to help Pinocchio, but LeShawna had other plans to the wooden boy. Now, that was LeShawna's turn to capture Pinocchio and they went after them only to find LeShawna and, again, Parasite Cage. After the splinter boy return to his senses and LeShawna abandoned them to their very luck against Parasite Cage, they fought and defeated the Heartless, and got puked by the whale. At least they're safe, stinking but safe. Now, what will happen to LeShawna? And Pinocchio will ever become a real boy? And when Space Ghost will arrive at Traverse Town, with his lousy tow service? Find more at TOTAL... DRAMA... WORLDS!_

Traverse Town was a beautiful town at the morning, birds were singing, people were strolling at the plaza and no sign of Heartless, the pesky beings of darkness vanished from the town after Heather locked the keyhole. Speaking of her, she was at the most sumptuous bedroom of the hotel (after blowing almost their entire supply of munny), sleeping comfortably. After they escaped from Monstro, Donald wrapped the gummi ship to the town, arriving at night, where they could rest and prepare for the next adventure.

"Yawn... New day," Heather woke up, yawning and stretching her arms. She put her silver wig and got up from the bed, going to the bathroom. She cleaned her face and proudly stated to herself, while looking at the mirror of the bathroom and grinning, "Heather you are awesome! Nobody can stop you!" She put some toothpaste on her tooth brush and started her dental hygiene ritual. Brush to the left, brush to the right, she did until she slowed down and stopped. "Wait there's something wrong," she said to herself, "This toothpaste tastes weird," she took a better look at the toothpaste and saw the label, "Hipoglos?" It wasn't toothpaste: it was urticaria cream, which was almost exactly like toothpaste.

"AAAAHHHH!!!" Her scream was heard all over the hotel and, when it reached the hall, there was an explosion of laughs. Donald, Goofy, Harold, Beth, Sadie, Justin and Geoff were all laughing and congratulating Duncan for the idea. At the bathroom, she was spitting, stucking her tongue out and drinking water desperately, trying to remove the cream from her mouth. Minutes later, she stormed into the hall, fuming, "Who did this? DUNCAN!!!"

"Hey, Heather," Duncan teased, "I think you've gotta look better at your toothpaste," and he showed the real toothpaste. She only frowned, crossed her arms and stomped out the room, with everyone laughing at her.

Later, at the lunch, Heather was enjoying a salad and decided to put more salt. But, when she turned the saltshaker, everything fell on her salad. Duncan, again, cackled, he had unscrewed the saltshaker, "This trick never gets old," he said. Heather growled and hurled the plate with the ruined salad against the punk, but he evaded and she hit the wall.

After the lunch, Sadie approached Heather and said, "Heather, Merlin wants to talk with you."

"Now?" she roughly answered.

"Sounds good, Heather," Harold said, "We need to release this summon gem," and he showed the purple gem they had collect in Monstro.

"Hmpf," she crossed her arms and went to the Magician's study with them.

After some time, they arrived. "Oh, gosh," Merlin said, shaking his hand with Heather," You are the Keyblade wielder. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Yeah, right."

"I finally can teach you about magic, and..."

"Teach? Me?" she interrupted, "I don't need to be taught. My magic is as strong as the duck."

"Hey, I have years of experience," Donald snapped.

"And I have the Keyblade," Heather stated. Donald just muttered some gibberish.

"Please, let me show my installations," and a platform appeared. They jumped in the platform and they went to the attic. "Now, Heather, please give a try."

"Okay," she muttered. Merlin made floating magical furniture appear. "They are moving and stationary targets, use them as dummy targets to test you magic." Heather used Fira, Blizzara, and Thunder to attack the targets. Merlin was rather impressed with her magic power and, after she decided to stop, he said, "Heather, your magic is rather impressive, the Keyblade gave you strength, but I could feel that you need to make your heart stronger."

"Nya nya nya," she shrugged, tauntingly moving her hand like a puppet.

"The King asked me to help," Merlin reminded himself, "Always come back whenever you need."

"Wait," Harold stopped, "We must see Fairy Godmother."

"Why is so important?" Heather said, "Do we really need this summon gem? I already have two annoying _creatures_ to summon."

"She's just some steps away from us," Harold reasoned, "Look, Fairy Godmother."

The tiny carriage started to glow and the Fairy Godmother appeared.

"Hello, son, how can I help you?"

"Fairy Godmother, we brought you another summon gem."

"Oh, let me handle this," she waved her wand and said the magic words, "Bibbity Bobbity boo!" After a while the gem glowed and revealed a girl, with a purple tank top, miniskirts and boots, with long red hair and orange skin and green eyes, with some marks at her forehead. She clearly wasn't human.

"Hi," she said gleefully, after stopping glow, "My name is Starfire, I came from a world called Tamaran, but, due to some events, I came to a world called Jump City, where I joined a group called Teen Titans, which whom I had many adventures, we fought against many monsters, defended the city from any threats, ate much pizza together, our leader was strong and handsome," she blushed for a while, "Everything was going smooth, until a very day some strange creatures appeared and we tried to fight back, but then everything... became... dark..." her last words were filled of sorrow, and she started to tear up, but she managed to reset herself, "Then, I heard a voice saying that wasn't the end, so I waited until someone release me and this one was you, nice, isn't it?" she finished with a big grin. Everyone was agape and their eyes were twitching.

"And what do you do?" Heather asked, skeptical.

"Look," her eyes started to glow and she pointed her hand to a wall and a burst of green energy came out, blasting the wall.

"You can do this?" Heather asked, dumbfounded with her power, "And why did your world was destroyed?"

"I must admit that a friend called Beast Boy made a," she stopped to make a sad sigh, "tactical mistake," and she resumed her quick, happy way of talking, "But, that doesn't matter. So, when you need me, just call in," and she started to glow and returned to her summon gem.

"Just what I needed," Heather scoffed, "Another annoying chatterbox to summon."

"C'mon, Heather," Harold replied, "She seems to be a good summon."

"Hey, who's going to repair my house?" said Merlin, with hands on his head.

"Duh, you're a magician, use magic," Heather retorted, making a grimace.

"Oh, I almost forgot," he chuckled, and, with a snap of fingers, he repaired the wall.

"Bye Merlin, bye Fairy Godmother," Donald waved, and they left the house to return to the plaza, where they were waited.

"Congratulations," it was Chris MacLean, along with Chef, "You've completed another world and defeated another Heartless leader and you know that means?"

"We thought you got stuck at Far Far Away," Harold said.

"Yeah, but we called for Space Ghost's interworld tow service," Chris said, with a frown, "Man, they're awful, our ship is even more damaged than before, 'cause of asteroids."

"But we did our job," Space Ghost stated, proud of himself.

"Aham... Anyway, for defeating Parasite Cage at Monstro, you receive this," and Chris showed a dark purple gem, almost black, to them. "This will teach you how to use Gravity," and he gave the gem to Heather, "And there's a new tournament at the Coliseum, go there for I record your actions. Stay tuned for more TOTAL... DRAMA... WORLDS!" and he walked away.

"So, what we're waiting for?" Donald said, jumping of enthusiasm.

"Let's go," Goofy said, pumping his fist to the air.

"Yeah, I was waiting for another opportunity to show goat-man I don't need his blabbering," Heather said, eager for more. The others didn't seem amused with her comment, but they proceed to the gummi ship. The ship took off and wrapped to the Coliseum.

Still at Traverse Town, Kurt popped out and directed to the host, "Wait, Chris MacLean?"

"It's me," he grinned, "Do you want an autograph?"

"Well, actually I'd like to know if you can install at our place the pay-per-view of Total Drama Worlds."

"You mean, that one with live transmission?"

"Right. You know, prof. Xavier wants to watch Heather with her Keyblade more closely and everyone wants to see them fighting the Heartless."

"No problem, Chef will go there to install. It'll be 7800 munny."

"That's exactly the cost of the towing service," Space Ghost said, meddling.

"Space Ghost," Kurt snapped, "You're still owing money to us."

"The money doesn't even need to come out from your pocket," Chris remarked, chuckling. The masked man only looked down, muttering "The Magikarps will make me roll in the money", and Chris just rolled his eyes.

At that time, the gummi ship was landing at the Coliseum. After going to the hall, they talked to Phil.

"Hiya, Phil," Harold waved, along with Donald and Goofy.

"Welcome back Harold, Donald and Goofy," Phil greeted them, ignoring Heather. She just crossed her arms, and turned her nose up. Phil, nonetheless, continued, "We've opened a new tournament, the Pegasus Cup. Let me register your inscription," he stopped for a while and asked, "Do I really need to register Heather?"

"Well..." Harold tried to say something, but Heather slapped the back of his head, again. He rubbed the placed, and said, "Yes, please register Heather."

Phil sighed and ordered Heather, "It's better you don't break the rules at least!" She only rolled her eyes.

After some preparation, they entered at the arena.

"For Daisy," Donald said, raising his staff.

"For the King," Goofy said, raising his shield.

"For LeShawna," Harold said, raising and swinging his nunchakus.

"For me," Heather said, raising the Keyblade. The others stared bothered. "What were you expecting?"

They fought their way against Air Soldiers, Search Ghosts, Large and Armored Bodies, and every sort of Heartless they already saw at their journey. But at the fourth seed, they saw something different.

"Look," Goofy said, pointing to the enemy. They were three Black Fungi. They had seen some White Mushrooms, but they were harmless and the group didn't bother with them, but the new ones didn't seem to be innocuous.

"Vicious or not, they're going down," Heather exclaimed as she charged at them with the Keyblade. The mushrooms took some hit and they started to glow. This made them change their color to metallic silver, and they were invincible. Heather tried to attack, with the help of her allies, but nothing was working. The mushrooms jumped and release spores at them. They coughed and were poisoned.

"Cough... fall back!" Heather ordered. Luckily, the enemy wasn't agile and they retreated to heal themselves. The enemy's metallic defense faded out and they took advantage to attack. Donald used Thunder, to attack all enemies, while Goofy used his tornado and Harold used his dancing nunchakus, whilst Heather used Sonic Blade. They were trying to attack all the enemies to avoid them to stay invulnerable again. They managed to defeat two mushrooms, but the last one became invincible again. Learning that its state didn't last much longer, they retreated and waited it to return to normal. When it happened, they unleashed a series of attacks against the mushroom, which became shadow dust in no time.

"We did it, ahyuck," Goofy cheered, wiping the sweat of his forehead.

"Good, I need a sip of water," Harold said, holding his nunchakus.

After a break, they faced the next challenger: Tyler.

"Look, who's here," Heather said, nonchalant, with her hands on her hips.

"I returned, Heather, to kick your ass," Tyler stated, confident, in an offensive stance, "I trained a lot, and your tricks won't work with me now."

"You're dead right," Heather replied back, "Make Lindsay proud, she's in the crowd, behind you."

"Where?" Tyler turned behind, with a swain look, but, again, this was an error. Heather hurried to him and hit him hard at his head with the Keyblade. In only one strike, Tyler fell unconscious to ground, completely defeated. The others didn't seem surprised or happy with the victory and Phil slapped his forehead. The crowd booed to Heather, who stuck her tongue back.

After a break and getting another reprehension from Phil, to which she wasn't paying the slightest attention, Heather returned to the arena, along with her teammates.

"Who's gonna be the next challenger?" Donald asked.

"It's a team called 'Giant Impact'. I just wonder what this means..." Harold answered, adjusting his glasses.

The Giant Impact team entered into the arena. They were three Armored Bodies and two Large Bodies.

"Stupid Owens wannabes," Heather scoffed, readying the Keyblade. They used a more cautious strategy, because the Bodies were aligned in the middle of the arena, blocking the way to their weak spots at their backs. To add more problems, the Armoreds could spit fireballs at Heather's team.

"Heather, what we're going to do?" Harold asked, dodging a fireball, while Goofy tried to approach, but was almost hit by the hands of a Large Body and Donald cast Blizzara, but, due to the long distance, the attack wasn't very effective.

"I don't know, but I think it's time to use this," Heather pointed the Keyblade to the sky and cried, "Gravity!" and her wig went purple, almost black. A great black orb came from the sky and squeezed three Bodies to the ground. Donald and Goofy took advantage and went to the other side, before the effect of the attack end. Now, with Heather's team attacking from both sides, the Bodies were confused for a while, because if they turned their backs to right Heather and Harold attacked and if they turned to the left, Donald and Goofy also attacked. After taking some hits, the Large Bodies became angry and started to run mad through the arena. To avoid being hit, they dodged the running enemies and instead of hitting Heather's team, the enemies hit themselves. This created what looked like a pinball effect.

"Gawrsh, watch out," Goofy cried, holding tightly his shield. Harold tried to avoid using his dancing techniques but he was hit, like Donald and Goofy. Heather cast Aero and was hit too, but the damage to her was halved. In the end, the enemies had destroyed themselves and only Heather, due to Aero, remained still, even though pretty tired and panting. She had won the battle.

"Ouch," Harold moaned, still on the ground, "You should have cast Aero on us too, Heather."

"And waste my magic? No way," she replied, "Besides, we won this match, so the next is the final."

They rested for a while, drank some water and were ready for the great final, when they would face Cyclops (Scott) and Rogue.

"Ha! So you two want to defeat me?" Heather teased, smirking.

"Good to see you Scott, Rogue," Harold waved.

Ignoring Heather, Scott replied to Harold, cracking his knuckles, "It's nice to see that you managed to reach the finals, I was looking forward for a good fight."

"Yeah," Rogue agreed, "We need to shake the skeleton sometimes, lighten the heart, you know." She wasn't wearing her normal outfit, but a battle outfit, dark blue like the one from Scott, with the X symbol and a green shoulder pad.

"Enough with the chit-chat, let's fight," Heather interrupted, readying the Keyblade. Phil gave the order and the fight began. Scott kneeled to the ground and pressed a button in his visor, shooting a beam against Heather, but she dodged it. Harold tried to approach by the side, but Scott kicked him away. Donald cast Fira at Rogue, but she avoided the attack and grabbed the duck, taking off her glove.

"Let's see what we've got here," she said as she touched Donald's face.

"Huh? Waaaak!" Donald screamed and fell to ground, panting.

"Fira," Rogue said, stretching her right hand. A fireball came out and hit Donald. She saw Goofy approaching and lifted her hands to the sky, saying, "Thunder," and the electric attack hit both Donald and Goofy. Donald had to cast Cure on himself. On the other side, Heather was battling against Scott; she was trying to hit him with the Keyblade, and he was protecting himself with his arms and launching optical blast. Since he was distracted with Heather, Harold used his num-yos to make him trip. It worked and Heather rushed to deliver a combo against him. Rogue reacted, casting Blizzara against Heather and Cure on Scott.

"Hey, what's going on, weird goth girl number two?" Heather asked, after being hit by the icy attack.

"Don't you realize I'm also a mutant?" Rogue retorted, smirking, "My power can actually change the tide of the battle if control it, and I have much experience," and she stretched her right hand to cast Fira again.

"Cool," Harold commented, as he dodged the projectile, "Replicating enemy's power. If I had that, my mad skills would be madder yet."

"Is madder an actual word?" Goofy asked, slightly confused.

"I think it's a plant," Donald replied, scratching his head.

"Stop talk and fight!" Heather yelled.

Heather avoided another optical blast, jumping, but Scott launched another optical blast, pointing to the ground. Before Heather could mock his aim, the blast bumped and hit Heather in the midair, and she fell on the ground. Heather quickly got up and cast Gravity and this incapacitated Scott for a while, and, when he returned to normal, he was hit by Goofy's ramming attack. Harold dodged Rogue's magic attacks using his dancing techniques and hit her with his nunchakus. She kneeled to the ground, panting, but managed to cast Cure on herself and Scott.

"Aw, phooey," Donald mumbled, "It's like her magic is infinite."

"I think it works different if you steal someone's power," Harold remarked.

"We must try to separate them and concentrate our attacks," Heather reasoned, "Let's go for Scott first."

They did as planned. Goofy used his shield to defend from Rogue's attacks and distract her, while Heather, Harold and Donald charged at Scott. When he was surrounded by them, he spinned, launching optical blasts, but only Donald was hit. Heather and Harold attacked with everything they got and Scott suffered a great deal of damage. Rogue used Thunder to disperse them.

"Rogue... please... cast Cure," Scott said, gasping.

"I don't know for how long I can use the powers of the duck," she replied. "But, I have a better idea," and she touched Scott's face. He screamed and fell unconscious.

Heather saw this and complained, "Hmpf, and they get bothered about me."

"Time to finish you," Rogue smirked, and stretched both hands. She launched a series of Fira, Blizzara, Thunder and optical blasts against them. The torrent of strikes was so relentless that Donald and Goofy fell to the ground defeated. Heather and Harold ran to different sides, but Harold was hit by the torrent and was knocked out too. Heather cast Gravity one second before the torrent hit her. The black orb squeezed Rogue, and, when she returned to normal, Heather used Sonic Blade against her. After the last attack, Rogue was launched against a column and was brought down, defeated. Heather had won the battle and the Pegasus Cup. Just a few persons in the crowd cheered for her, the majority remained silent.

"Hey, I won fair and square," Heather yelled to crowd, raising her fist, "Why aren't you claiming my name?" The crowd just kept silent. Heather scoffed and left the arena.

Later, at the trophy ceremony, Phil handed the trophy to them, "Therefore I congratulate Harold, Donald and Goofy and... Heather for winning the Pegasus Cup." Heather lifted the trophy, but the crowd remained silent.

"Please, leave to me, Heather," Harold picked the trophy and lifted it, and the entire crowd cheered for them. Heather just crossed her arms, frowning.

After that, and before leaving the world, they found Scott and Rogue having an argument.

"Why did you do that?" Scott snapped.

"Well, I didn't know if you'd last for long, so I had to do something," Rogue replied, nonchalant, "And we could have won."

"If you think that, in the next time, I'll fight with you on my team, you are sorely mistaken."

"Hmpf."

Noticing Heather's group, Scott waved to them, "Heather, you defeated me without cheating, so I want to give you this," and he handed her an instruction paper, 'How to use Strike Raid'.

"I guess I should be thankful," she shrugged. They embarked on their gummi ship and left the world for the next one.


	21. Under the shiny sea, pt 1

** A.N.: **New chapter. About that "urticaria cream" joke, that was just a Duncan-style joke, I think that would fit, but I think I should have researched more, maybe I should put "cream to heal urticaria". Thanks for the music DorktorK, Heather is not the usual spike-haired hero and you put this fact very well (any reader who wants to see, check at Reviews). For this chapter I'm using a world from the original game, like I did with Coliseum, because the coming of a TDI character would relevantly change the plot. By the way, next update will take longer. Now, enjoy.

* * *

_Last time on Total Drama Worlds. After a quick stop at Traverse Town, Heather and her allies proceeded to Coliseum, where they would face the Pegasus Cup. They defeated a lot of enemies, including our favorite __unsuccessful jock, Tyler, again in a pure movement of dirty cleverness. After defeating a bunch of Large and Armored Bodies, our team faced their toughest challenge: the X-Men members Scott and Rogue. They had a hard battle, which guaranteed me high ratings, but, in the end, Heather prevailed against Rogue and they won the Pegasus Cup. Will the Coliseum crowd finally respect Heather? And will does she do something to be respected? And will Space Ghost ever pay Kurt and Evan? Find out at TOTAL... DRAMA... WORLDS!_

"Aim locked," Harold grinned when he locked his turret at a patrol Heartless ship. The laser fired and destroyed the enemy.

"You're getting better, Harold," Goofy congratulated as he fired against another patrol ship. "More enemies incoming," he looked at the radar, four points were blimping, but, when he got a visual, he saw bad news, "Gawrsh! These are fighter ships," Goofy cried.

"What do you mean?" Harold asked.

"They're harder to beat."

The fighter Heartless ships were different from the patrol ships; they were much more aerodynamic and swift. Harold tried to fire lasers, but the enemies avoided without much effort. One enemy approached and, after a turn, shot against the engine. In a glance, Goofy aimed his turret against the ship and managed to shoot it down. The enemies were using hit-and-run tactics and the royal gummi ship was taking much damage. Harold and Goofy were doing their best to counterattack and Donald was performing evasive maneuvers. Finally, after shot down another enemy ship, the remaining ships retreated to the darkness.

"Phew," Harold said, wiping the sweat of his forehead, "That was close."

"The interworld space is becoming more and more dangerous," Donald remarked, "This means their base's becoming closer."

"And when we finally attack their last base, this will be the end, right?" Heather asked, tapping the floor impatiently.

----

"C'mon, Heather, you know your journey will take a lot of time to end," Chris commented, while watching the footage at the unknown location, "The more you kill Heartless, the more you make me happy with the ratings," and he ended with his trademark chuckle.

----

"Sure," Harold said, but he had the feeling he was lying.

"Great," Heather replied, unmoving, and pointed to the screen, "Because there's another world there."

The next world looked like an immense ocean, surrounded by a rocky formation.

"Uhm," Harold said, pointing an electronic device that was in the left panel of the ship, "The keyhole of this world is under the water."

"How can you be so sure?" Heather asked.

"Dexter installed while at Traverse Town," he said, "This can track and estimate the location of the keyhole, but it can't give us the exact location."

"Okay, so let's land," Donald said, inserting commands at the panel.

"Aren't you forgetting something, Einstein?" Heather said, with her arms crossed, "We'll drown, you idiot!"

"Oh, you little," Donald replied, fuming a little, "With my magic, everything will be fine! Just leave to me!"

**Atlantica**

After landing, Donald used his magic to allow them to breathe underwater, transforming them also to go on without being bothered by the denizens of the world. Heather was a mermaid, half-human, half-shark. Her torso was normal, with her brown bikini, but her lower parts were replaced by a white shark fin and tail. Harold was half-human, half-manta ray and his nunchakus were now at the edge of his tail. Donald was half-duck, half-octopus, his legs became tentacles. Goofy was a sea-turtle with his shield placed on the top of his cask.

"Cool," Harold beamed, "I have gills now. It's a dream that become true. And I can even talk under the water. I feel so free!"

"A-hyuck," Goofy agreed, swimming along with a shoal of angelfish, "It's indeed a good sensation." Donald remained silent, but he was enjoying too.

Jiminy came out from his usual spot and commented, "Luckily the diary is water-proof." He didn't change, he was still the normal cricket.

"Okay, so where do we start," Heather said, in her bossy tone, "In this hour, the Heartless use to show up."

But, instead of Heartless, they heard someone approaching, "Come on, Sebastian!"

"Ariel, wait!" another voice replied, with a strong Jamaican accent, "Slow down! Don't leave me behind!"

They went closer to see what was happening. It was another mermaid, with red hair and bikini, and a green tail, followed by a tiny yellow fish with blue stripes and a red crab. The crab was trying hard to catch up his friends that didn't notice he was going into Donald. When he turned his head to see where he was exactly going, he saw Donald and screamed.

"AAHH! Who are you? Please, don't kill me, I didn't finish composing my symphony!"

Ariel just chuckled, covering her mouth, and calmly explained, "Relax, Sebastian. They don't look like one of them. Right, Flounder?"

"I don't know. There's something weird about them," the fish replied, unsure. Harold chuckled nervously while Heather stuck out her tongue.

"My name is Ariel, and these are Flounder and Sebastian."

"My name is Harold."

"I'm Goofy, ahyuck."

"And I'm Donald."

"Mine's Heather," and she frowned a bit, "What do you mean with weird?" Harold shook his head nervously.

"You do seem," Ariel took a better look at Heather, circling her, "A little different. Where are you from?"

Harold nudged her arm and she answered to Ariel, "Uhm, yeah, we're from kind of far away."

"Look, Heartless," Donald pointed to the enemy. They were five Sea Neons, jellyfish-like Heartless.

"Good luck!" Sebastian said and, along with Flounder, they hid in a clamshell. Ariel also hid herself, in a nearby cave. Heather summoned the Keyblade and started to stab the Sea Neons. Harold swung his tail to attack the enemy, while Donald used his magic and Goofy his shield. It wasn't a great group, so the gang quickly disposed of them.

"The battle is over," Heather said, knocking the clamshell with the Keyblade, "Get out!"

"Wow, nice job," Ariel blurted out, impressed, "Those creatures chased us here."

"That's just another day of business," Heather flatly stated.

"The Heartless can be very relentless, you know," Harold added, adjusting his glasses with his fin.

"Who?" Flounder asked, curious.

"The Heartless," Harold answered, "That's how those creatures are called."

"They must be everywhere in this world," Goofy remarked.

"Everywhere?" Sebastian gasped, "Oh, no! Those monsters might be heading for the palace, too!"

"We must head back, quickly," Flounder added.

"But we need to find Lindsay, first," Ariel protested.

"Excuse me," Harold said, curious, "Did you say Lindsay?"

"Yeah, she's a friend of mine," Ariel explained, "She usually lives with us in the palace, but we didn't see her today, so we got off from the palace to look for her."

"Is she a girl with blonde hair, blue eyes and big boobies?" Harold asked, while Heather slammed her fist at his head.

"Yes, but why?" Ariel asked back, scratching her head.

"Ha! The stupid blonde's here," Heather scoffed, "I wouldn't be surprised if she has something to do with this Heartless invasion."

"Does she?" the red-haired mermaid asked, in an innocent manner, "Lindsay's such a nice person. There's no way this be the case."

"Bah," Heather said, very annoyed, "Lindsay is just another stupid blonde. If she's your friend, okay. You'll become as stupid as she is."

Ariel frowned, and said, in a slightly angry voice, "I don't believe you."

"Believe what you want!"

"Gawrsh!" Goofy exclaimed, "Why's Heather so snappish?"

"Heather used to manipulate Lindsay at the first season," Harold explained, "Lindsay did believe that Heather was her friend. But, after Heather showed her true intentions, she snapped out a day and told her off," then he whispered to them, "And she's indirectly responsible for Heather's baldness."

"She kinda deserved it," Donald whispered back, unimpressed.

"Karma hit her hard," Harold replied with a nod, "But it didn't seem to be very effective."

"No wonder," Donald replied, taking care to not call Heather's attention, "If the death can't break her ego, shaving her head wouldn't change anything too."

"I don't know if I'm going to regret this," Ariel announced, "But we need your help. We must find Lindsay and go back to the palace. There are many trident marks on the wall which point to the palace. We won't get lost as long as we don't lose their sight."

"Riiight," Heather replied, in a deadpan voice, with her arms crossed.

"Okay, let's go!" Ariel said and swam to a valley, with her friends following her.

"Move it!" Heather ordered and followed Ariel.

They went to a vast undersea valley, with many rocky formations and reefs. Fishes were calmly swimming and the sun illuminated the entire area.

"The bottom of the valley is the only spot we didn't check out," Ariel explained pointing to the place.

"So, let's go," Harold replied, 'flying' to the area. Heather only made an annoyed look, but went there.

The bottom of the valley was filled with algae and the angelfishes were swimming calmly, happily dancing according to the undersea current. The group stopped for a while to see their dance. It was amazing their synchronism, but, suddenly, they stopped and quickly hid in the algae.

"Huh, strange?" Ariel said.

"Aw, phooey" Donald remarked, "Why did they stop?"

Heather rolled her eyes and glanced to the duck and she saw the tentacle of a Sea Neon about to hit Donald. She quickly got the Keyblade and used her new ability, the Strike Raid. She grabbed by the handle and hurled to his direction. The Keyblade spun in high speed and hit the Heartless, cutting it in half and also hit Donald, but the effect on the duck was weaker.

"Ouch!" the duck yelled, and glared at Heather, "Why, you little... That hurts!"

She placed her hands on her hips and replied, in an irritated tone, "Why are you complaining? I saved your _pathetic_ life!" Donald looked to Harold and Goofy and they gave an unwilling nod.

"Ow..." he rubbed the back of his head, "I could have sustained one slap or two..."

"Ariel?" a voice blurted from the algae.

"Lindsay?" Ariel replied. Then, she came out from the algae. It was Lindsay, she also was a mermaid, with her red bikini and bandana, and she had a deep-blue tail, with yellow and black stripes.

"Ariel, it's good to see you again," she gleefully hugged her red-haired friend.

"Me too, Lindsay. They helped us to find you."

"It's good to see you too again, Flounder, Sebastian," and she looked at the other side, "Nice to meet you, duck-oclotapus thing, dog-turtle thing, manta ray with Harry's head, and," she turned to much more serious look, "Helga."

"IT'S HEATHER, YOU DITZY BLONDE!" Heather snapped, lifting her arms and clenching her fists in the air.

"Hey, you don't need to shout at her," Ariel protested.

"Heather, please, calm down," Harold requested. She only scoffed, turning her nose up.

"Lindsay, where have you been?" Ariel asked, with a bit of concern in her voice, "Flounder, Sebastian and I have been looking for you the entire morning. Those creatures are roaming all over the area."

"They could have made minced meat of you," Sebastian added.

"Sebastian!" Ariel blurted out.

"Well, uhm, I was," she stopped for a while and said, "Walking, yes, I was walking, looking at the fishes, the reefs..."

"You don't have legs anymore," Heather interrupted, "You can't walk, duh." Lindsay just grimaced and stuck her tongue out to Heather.

"Ariel, now that we found her, can we go back to the palace?" Sebastian said, very worried.

"Sure, Sebastian, let's swim there," she replied, guiding them to the palace.

"By the way, I didn't ask your names," Lindsay said, directing to Donald and Goofy.

"I'm Donald."

"Name's Goofy."

"And you, weird manta ray with Harry's head?" she asked.

"Don't remember me? Harold, with mad skills." She stares him blankly. "From Total Drama Island and Total Drama Action, we were together there." She keeps staring blankly. "And from Chef's roadkill cafe, we were in the same table." She keeps staring him blankly. "I fought against with marshmallows." She still keeps staring him blankly.

"Oh, wait," she finally remembered, "You're the one who was dumped by LeFwanda, didn't you?"

"LeShawna didn't dump me," he replied, sobbing a bit.

"Whoops," Lindsay said, covering her mouth. Heather only watched, very annoyed with her presence. Lindsay noticed and swam faster to catch up with Ariel.

"Ariel, I must warn you," she whispered, "Heather's not a very trustworthy person."

"Yeah, I saw how rude she was, but need her for a while."

"I don't know," she replied, insecure.

Before they could enter at a cave, with the yellow trident mark, they were surrounded by Sea Neons.

"Looks like we need to take care of them before," Harold said, swinging his tail.

"Lindsay, go to a safe distance with Flounder and Sebastian," Ariel said, pointing to a rock. A Sea Neon tried to ram at Ariel, but she spun and charged at the enemy, creating a spiral wave. Harold, Donald and Goofy were impressed with her skill and Heather just raised an eyebrow. Harold whipped one with his tail-nunchakus and Donald cast Fira, which made great damage. Goofy and Heather stabbed one with their weapons, and were hit by another. Ariel grabbed a bottle and opened it, to release a Thunder spell, which hit all the remaining enemies. Heather attacked one with a combo and defeated it and Donald kept casting Fira. Harold, Goofy and Ariel attacked the last ones and finally defeated them.

"Why's Heather helping us?" Lindsay thought, tapping her chin, "She's up to something."

"Something wrong, Lindsay?" Flounder asked, swimming around her.

Before Lindsay could answer, Heather shouted, in a bossy manner, "Hey, the Heartless are gone. Let's go!"

And they entered at the cave. "Now be careful," Ariel explained, "The current is strong here, if you don't be careful, you'll be taken away."

"Ariel, do you think they'll succeed?" Sebastian asked, concerned.

"Of course, Sebastian," then, she grabbed the crab and ordered, "Follow me!" and she dived on the fast current. Lindsay and Flounder went after.

"Okay, let's go," Heather said as she entered on the current. She was dragged away by the strong current, but managed to arrive at the Calm Depths with Ariel and Lindsay because of an intersection that allowed anyone to go there. Harold, Donald and Goofy followed, but they slammed into a wall.

"See, Sebastian," Ariel said, with a chuckle, "You don't need to be so over-suspicious."

"You don't understand, Ariel," Sebastian quickly replied, "There can be dangers behind every rock, every reef, like THERE!" and he hid behind Lindsay. Three Search Ghosts had showed up. Heather and the gang battled the Heartless. They avoided their claw attacks and hit them hard with the Keyblade, nunchakus, shield and magic.

"Phew," Harold said as he got a potion, "They don't stop coming."

"Let's keep an eye on the way," Ariel said, "Together we can't be defeated."

And, indeed, the Heartless were no match for the team. No matter how they attacked, the team always defeat them without suffer much damage. Lindsay didn't fight, but she was watching Heather. She couldn't understand why Heather was helping her, although the silver-wigged mermaid didn't show any change in her attitude, she was still being mean, bossing and insulting everyone.

After crossing a garden filled with a new kind of Heartless, the Screwdrivers, they managed to reach the palace.

"I hate to bring bad news," Sebastian said, looking behind, "But they're following us." Three Screwdrivers followed the group inside the palace.

"Grr... Why didn't they give up?" Heather said, turning behind. However, before she could summon the Keyblade, the enemies were pulverized by an enormous lightning.

"What happened?" Harold asked, a bit confused.

"That was too close," they heard a voice. When they turned to check, they saw a huge, muscular merman, with long and white hair and, beard sitting on a purple throne, wearing a crown and holding a big trident. Doubtlessly was a king. "As long as I have my trident, I will not tolerate those creatures inside this palace."

"Daddy!" Ariel shouted, with a happy and relieved look.

"Oh, Ariel! When will you listen? It's dangerous out there!" he said, with an exasperated voice.

Ariel was about to answer that she was looking for Lindsay, but was suddenly interrupted by her father.

"Strange creatures lurk outside."

Ariel frowned a bit, but was comforted by Lindsay, who patted her shoulder.

Sebastian swan to next to the king and formally introduced him. After clearing his throat, he declared, "Behold. You swim before the ruler of the seas: His Majesty, King Triton."

Heather and her group made a reverence and the king asked, "And who are they?"

"They helped us fight off those creatures," Ariel explained.

"They don't look familiar," King Triton replied, with a suspicious look, tapping his chin.

"We're from an ocean very far away," Harold explained, still uncomfortable, because he was talking with a true king. He had some preoccupation about talking the wrong thing, because he saw the power of the trident.

"Yup," Goofy added, "We came to find the Keyhole."

"The what?" the king asked, with a surprised tone. Donald chattered his teeth, Harold gulped and Heather made a signal to Goofy cut off the chat, but she noticed King Triton glancing at her and she bluffed with a nervous grin.

"What's that?" Ariel asked, suddenly filled with curiosity.

"Well, it's a..." Before he could explain, Triton again interrupted.

"There's no such thing," he said, with an emphatic voice, leaning forward, "Certainly not here."

"What a jerk. He thinks he can hide the keyhole," Heather thought and decided to talk, "Look, don't you think what could happen if..."

"Don't talk unless I ask," the king interrupted again. Heather frowned, feeling disrespected.

"But, daddy..." Ariel tried to talk but the only thing she received was an angry look.

"Ariel, not another word! You are not to leave the palace," King Triton ordered, with his mighty voice, "Is that clear?"

Ariel didn't respond. She just frowned and swan off the room. Lindsay followed her and so Heather, Harold, Donald and Goofy.

After they left the throne room, King Triton rested his head on his hand and sighed, "Perhaps I'm being too strict..."

"Well, actually, Ariel left the palace to look for Lindsay," Sebastian explained, with a bit of caution in his voice, "She's not been in the surroundings of the palace for the entire morning."

"I'm just concerned for her safety. Her new friend is not of the smartest kind, although it's good she has a new friend..."

"Of course, Your Majesty," Sebastian agreed, then he made a statement that sounded like a question, "But I must admit, now I'm quite curious about this keyhole."

"That need not concern you, Sebastian," then the king changed the topic, "Have you anything to report?"

"Just as you suspected, Your Majesty," Sebastian promptly replied, "They seem to be coming from Ursula's grotto."

"I knew it," the king blurted out, "That sea witch is up to no good again. I see that exile from the palace has taught her nothing."

"Yes, she poses serious danger."

"And I told you to keep Ariel away from such danger, did I not?" the king reminded the crab of something he wasn't doing: watching Ariel.

"You Majesty, please. I, uhm..."

Out of the throne room, Ariel was there, still upset with her father. Lindsay tried to cheer her up, "Ariel, what about we do some shopping at Whale-Mart? It always works with me when I'm upset."

"Thanks, Lindsay," Ariel replied, lightening herself up, "But, I think I'll go to my grotto. Hey, you guys want to go, too?"

"It would be a pleasure," Harold politely nodded.

"Uhm, Ariel, do we have to invite Heather too?" Lindsay asked, a bit nervous.

"Heather won't break anything, right?" Donald replied, nudging Heather. The silver-wigged mermaid just rolled her eyes.

The group swan to the gorge, where they reached the entrance of the grotto.

"There it is," Ariel said, pointing to a cavern with a rock in the entrance, "See?"

"I see Heartless!" Flounder shouted, pointing to the enemy. Two Sheltering Zones and six Screwdrivers.

"Great, giant jellycraps," Heather scorned. Lindsay grabbed Flounder and hid in a cave, while Heather, Harold, Donald, Goofy and Ariel stayed for the fight. Two Screwdrivers charged at full speed with their spears against Harold, and he didn't have time to react, so Ariel used an Aero Potion at him. He suffered little damage and managed to fight back, with a dancing nunchakus attack.

"Thanks, Ariel," Harold waved. Another Screwdriver charged at Heather, but she blocked its spear and attacked with a combo. A Sheltering Zone tackled Donald, but he used Fira and Blizzara to counterattack. Goofy helped with his tornado attack. Ariel attacked the other giant jellyfish with a spiral wave and Harold helped with his dancing nunchakus. Heather was busy with the Screwdrivers, she dodge three hits and used Strike Raid, which got two enemies with one strike. Donald and Ariel joined forces and attacked with Thunder the giant jellyfishes. The enemies stopped to move.

"Yeah, we did it," Donald said, pumping his fist on the air.

"Wait, there must be something wrong," Harold objected, "Usually a heart comes out when we defeat the ones with emblem."

Harold wasn't wrong. The two Sheltering Zones emitted a gas and, when it dissipated, there were more six Sea Neons. Nevertheless, the group proceed to attack. Harold swung his nunchakus and Heather hit with the Keyblade while Donald used Fira at the Sea Neons. Goofy and Ariel attacked the remaining Screwdrivers, being careful when they swung their spears. After some time the enemies were reduced to dust and no more enemies were seen.

"Finally, they're gone," Lindsay said, coming out from the cave, along with Flounder.

"Now we can safely enter in my grotto," Ariel remarked, "Let's push the door," and Ariel and Heather pushed the rock that was being used as a door to enter. Inside, they saw a vast collection of items, valuable or not, like barrels, mirrors, silverware, chests, and every sort of thing.

"Look at all the wonderful things Flounder, Lindsay and I've collected. I think it's all from the outside world."

"I helped with this comb," Lindsay stated, proud of her contribution. Heather didn't seem amused.

"Someday, I'm going to see what's out there. I want to see other worlds. Does that sound strange?"

"I think not," Heather agreed, without her typical nastiness, "But I think you should worry about your own world."

"What do you mean?" Ariel asked, curious.

"Where do you know I can find the keyhole," Heather asked, "I know your father know something about, and I want to find it soon."

"Uhm, I don't know, but why don't we go look for?"

"But, Ariel, your father said," Harold tried to remember her from her father's advice.

"Oh, he treats me like a little girl," the red-haired mermaid interrupted, "He never wants to let me do anything. He just... He just doesn't understand."

"But he only wants the better for you," Goofy reasoned.

"I know, but I just want to do different things," Ariel replied, impatient, "He must understand I can and have to do things on my own."

Unbeknownst to them, Sebastian was eavesdropping the talk. He felt sympathy for Ariel, but he also was under King Triton's orders and he had to report to him, no matter how this could be hurtful for Ariel.

At the gorge, Donald asked, "So where do we can go first?"

"I know," Ariel said, "Let's go to the sunken ship. There's lot of mysteries there."

"So, what are we waiting for?" Heather remarked, "I can't wait to finish this."

"C'mon, Heather," Harold happily replied, swimming around her, "Don't you like being a mermaid, swimming freely in the ocean?"

"Shut it, Harold," she rudely replied back.

They swam to the valley, but Lindsay glanced at a silhouette moving in the algae and stopped.

"Lindsay, are you coming with us?" Ariel asked.

"Uhm, I'm a bit tired and I... need to rest," she replied, "I'm going to stay here."

"Okay, see you later."

"By-bye." The blonde mermaid approached the algae. The silhouette was from two eels.

"Ursula needs to talk with you," the first eel, Floatsam, said, hissing.

"Yeah, she needs to warn you," the second eel, Jetsam, completed, handing her a special mirror. There, the image of Ursula, a fat and purple octopi-mermaid, appeared.

"Lindsay, how are you?" she asked, grinning.

"I'm fine," she replied, grinning too, "Why did you call me?"

"I see that Heather is here."

Lindsay made an angry look and agreed, "Yeah, I saw that, she's planning something evil, I know!"

"But do you know what she's doing with Ariel?"

Lindsay gasped, "No, she's going to hurt Ariel." With a fierce look on her eyes, she said, "I can't let this happen!"

"Don't worry my dear," Ursula's grin became wider, "The same way I helped you, and I can help her."

"Tell me, how can I help?"

"You must do according to my plan: wait at Ariel's grotto, until they return."

"Why I can't go now?"

"The idea of looking for the keyhole was Heather's idea, that heinous witch," Ursula's expression changed to a fake sad face, "But, she had already delated her to her father, and when they return, her father will castigate the poor Ariel." Lindsay's anger grew up as Ursula continued to speak, she knew that Heather was able to do something like this only for pleasure, "You must wait there until she returns," and Ursula grinned again, "And you do need a rest, anyways," she winked and ended the transmission.

"Heather won't harm any of friends," she said, raising her fist, "Besides, I think I need some rest," and she leaned against a rock and took a nap.

Meanwhile, at Ursula's lair, she was laughing evilly, while looking at Ariel and Heather in her cauldron, "Those impudent fools will never find the Keyhole. But the girl could prove useful. And I've got the Heartless on my side. Triton, my old friend... Your day is coming," and she laughed even more yet.


	22. Under the shiny sea, pt 2

**A.N.: **It's been almost a month, so I decided to split this arc in 3 parts. Enjoy.

* * *

The gang passed by caves and gorges, fighting the Heartless with everything they got, to finally arrive at Calm Depths again.

"The sunken ship is beyond the current," said Ariel, looking at the path.

"Great, Einstein," Heather harshly replied, "But how are we going to pass through that current?"

Suddenly, they heard a cry for help. It was a dolphin, who was being chased by three Screwdivers, swimming the faster he could and avoiding their spears. Harold, Donald, Goofy and Ariel went there to help, while Heather only watched them, with arms crossed. They quickly dispatched the enemies and the dolphin was safe.

"Good work, Heather," Harold sarcastically commented, with an annoyed look.

"What?" she replied, feigning indignation, "You didn't need my help this time, we already had outnumbered them." Harold just rolled his eyes and turned to the dolphin.

"Thanks for the help, Ariel and friends," the dolphin said, "These things were chasing me."

"No problem," the red-haired mermaid grinned.

"How can I repay you?"

"No, please that was just a favor..."

"No, no, no, I insist!"

"I have an idea," Harold said, trying to snap his fingers, but he didn't have any fingers, so he just waved his fin, "Why can't I snap my fingers?"

"You don't have fingers, stupid dweeb," Heather said, very annoyed.

"Oh, yes, I need to get used," he trailed off, looking down, "Anyway, do you know how we can go to the sunken ship?"

"The sunken ship?" the dolphin uttered, surprised, "Let me guess: the current is too strong and isn't letting you keep moving, is it?"

"Kind of," Donald said, rubbing the back of his head.

"Your problems are over now," the dolphin stated, proud, "I'm a professional swimmer, almost an olympic champion," he boasted, showing off his fins, trying to impress the audience, "I have the strongest fins of my family, I can easily swim through the current..."

"Okay, enough, we got the point," Heather interrupted.

"Hmpf," the dolphin merely looked vexed with the interruption, but he kept talking anyway, "Now, hold on to me." The group did as said and the dolphin gave one last warning, "Fasten your sea-belts."

"Ouch," Harold moaned, rubbing the back of his head, because Heather had slapped him, again, "What was that for?"

"Lame joke," she answered, rolling her eyes.

"But I didn't say anything! It was the dolphin!"

"I know, but this doesn't make you innocent." Harold tightened his eyebrow and opened his mouth to say something, but, before he could reply, the dolphin darted off, swimming wildly through the entire area before entering the current. The dolphin wasn't lying about his capacities and they reached the area of the sunken ship in a few seconds.

"That was cool," Harold said, joyful, but a little dizzy.

"I think I'm going to puke," said Heather, very dizzy.

"Thanks for the help, dolphin," Ariel said, also dizzy, but not as much as Heather, so Donald and Goofy.

"You're welcome," the dolphin happily replied, waving his fin, "Call me back anytime," and the dolphin swan away to other direction.

The sunken ship area had many wreckages from ancient shipwrecks, the greater part were just carcasses of other ships, but there was one in better shape than the others. Could still be sailing until the present time, if there wasn't a big hole in the lower part of the hull. It was also Ariel's favorite area to find treasures and things from the dwellers of the land, in spite of the relative lack of sunlight, caused by the greater depth.

"Okay, now let's go there," Ariel said, pointing to the bigger ship, "We can enter by a passage on the deck."

"Ariel," Flounder said, appearing from nowhere, "But we already verified the area."

"Flounder, how did you get here?" Goofy asked.

"Oh, I used a shortcut. When we go back, I'll show you."

Obviously the new information didn't please Heather, "You mean I almost puked for nothing?!" she snapped.

"Heather, calm down," Ariel intervened, "The shortcut Flounder is talking is blocked by something. He's smaller, so he can pass by." Heather didn't seem convinced, "Hmpf, I want to see this, but now let's go to the incredible eerie ship to find the damn keyhole."

"Why is she so mean?" Ariel talked under her breath, with a distrustful look.

After reaching the ship, Ariel pointed to them the entrance. Heather, Harold headed inside, but Donald stopped to make a comment, "Goofy, why no Heartless showed up yet?"

"I don't know, maybe it's their break, a-hyuck."

"Strange," and the octopi magic entered in the interior of the ship, followed by his turtle soldier friend.

"Now, I know there's something here we didn't check yet," said Ariel, opening a closet. Harold, Goofy and Donald split up and searched in the adjacent cabins and depots.

Still at the main cabin, along with Ariel and Flounder, Heather started to do something she was an expert: whining. "This is useless! The truth is that we are wasting time, energy on a stupid sunken ship."

"Can't you shut up for a while? Heather, why do you have to be such a b-?" Ariel shouted, losing her patience.

"I am saying the truth!" she snapped back, crossing her arms and proceeded to insult the red-haired mermaid, "You are an awful guide, stupid daddy's girl!"

"Me? I'm hearing you complaining since we met, you big-mouthed witch!"

"You..." but before the argument could evolve into a catfight, Heather suddenly stopped, "Wait, I sense something big approaching."

"You what?" Flounder asked, dumbfounded.

"Step back from the window," Heather ordered.

"But why-AAAAH!" Ariel yelled, after a shark crashed through the window, trying to bite her. She could look into his yellow eyes, open-mouthed, and fear take control of her entire body. The shark almost got her, but Heather pulled her away from the shark. The opening in the ship blocked the shark from reach them, and he gave up, retreating.

"That was close!" Ariel said, panting a bit due to the shock, "Why did you help me out?"

"I don't know," Heather answered, without looking to Ariel.

"Hey, girls, what's happening here?" Harold said, going into the cabin, with Donald and Goofy.

"Gawrsh! Did some tornado come here?" Goofy said, placing his fins over his head

"Goofy, tornadoes don't occur underwater," Donald amended.

"It could be a whirlpool," Harold added, "But what kind of whirlpool can do that?"

"It was a shark," Ariel explained, "He smashed the window and almost got me, but Heather helped me," the others looked surprised, "Well, actually she saved me... Heather how did you know that was a shark?"

"I didn't, I just felt..." she trailed off.

"Oh, I see," Harold cleared his throat and explained, "Sharks can feel electromagnetic emanations from other fishes, that's how some species hunt. When Donald turned you into a shark mermaid, he must've sharpened this sense."

"Actually, my magic worked randomly," said Donald, "But a shark form fits well to her."

"Ariel," Flounder said, trying to grab a chest in a hole made in the floor, "Look what I found."

Ariel helped his tiny friend and tried to open, but they couldn't do it. "You're doing it wrong," Heather intervened nonchalantly and summoned the Keyblade to open the chest. Inside the chest was a beautiful crystal trident, as blue as pure crystal could be.

"Hmm," Ariel wondered, putting his forefinger to her mouth, "Its shape reminds me something."

"I think I saw something like this at your grotto, Ariel," Flounder observed.

"So, let's go back."

"Great," Heather rolled her eyes, "I knew this would be a waste of time."

They left the ship and made their way back to the gorge. Flounder showed the shortcut and, after some teamwork, they removed the obstacles.

"Why didn't you tell us before that beside your grotto there was a super-fast shortcut?" Heather asked, impatient.

"Heather, I don't want to discuss with you," Ariel replied, without turning to her.

"Hey, Lindsay's still there," Goofy said.

"Lindsay, wake up," Ariel said, poking her, "I want you to see something."

"Oh," Lindsay yawned and stretched her arms, "Ariel, it's you? I had a strange dream, where I came to the sea and I was a mermaid... Wait, I'm a mermaid now."

"The sea is crawled with Heartless and you were sleeping, just waiting for be chopped down. You're stupid as hell," Heather scoffed, putting her hands on her hips. Lindsay just glared at Heather, growled and shouted to Ariel, "Ariel, I need to tell you something." Heather merely raised her eyebrow.

Ariel was opening the door, "Yes, Lindsay?" After she opened the door, Lindsay came closer to her and started to talk, pointing to Heather, "It's Heather, she's..."

"But, Lindsay, look at what we found," Ariel showed the crystal trident, beaming, "Isn't it beautiful?"

"Sure," she stopped to take a better look at the jewel, "I see the same shape at a wall at your grotto."

"Yeah, the wall, I'm sure this fits on the wall," and the red-haired mermaid happily entered into the grotto, with everyone following her.

"Ariel, but you must know something…" Lindsay tried again to talk with Ariel, but was stopped by her again, "Lindsay, what you need to talk with me can wait," she said, without losing her smile, "Now, I want to see what will happen," and she put the crystal trident in the slot. The trident started to glow.

"Maybe it's a wall lamp," Goofy wondered.

"It can't be a lamp," Harold replied, "Tridents aren't good forms for wall lamps. I learned at Funky Steve's Decoration Camp that tridents aren't good for this kind of decoration, although bell-shaped flowers are perfect for this."

"Dorky... Hmm, I sense something approaching," Heather said, and they turned to see who was coming. It was King Triton; he was wielding his trident and had a harsh look on his face. Ariel started to feel very uncomfortable, Lindsay gasped and also started to get worried, because she knew what was going to happen with her friend. The others also were nervous, but Heather didn't seem worried.

"Ariel, you've disobeyed me again!" he thundered, with a severe tone, "I told you not to leave the palace!" He then noticed the crystal trident glowing. He became even angrier yet and, without saying a single word, he held his trident tightly and started to charge energy.

"Daddy, no!" Ariel tried to intervene, but it was in vain. He ignored her plea and launched a powerful energy beam to the crystal trident. The jewel became dust and was taken by the mild current.

"How could you..." Ariel trailed off, with a hindered voice and watering up her eyes. She refused to stay longer in her grotto with him; her father destroyed something important to her, something she believed that could give her at least a glimpse from other worlds, her most dear wish. The destruction of the jewel was also the destruction of a hope and became the destruction of her trust too.

"Wait, Ariel..." Lindsay said, following her.

After they left, King Triton pointed his trident to Heather, "Young woman, you're not from another ocean. You're from another world, aren't you? Then you must be the keybearer."

Heather yawned and asked, in a provocative tone, "Yeah, how did you know?"

King Triton frowned even more, "You may fool Ariel, but you can't fool me. You don't know your dorsal fin from your tail. As the key bearer, you must already know: one must not meddle in the affairs of other worlds."

"Of course I know that, but..." Heather tried to explain, but was again harshly interrupted by King Triton.

"You have violated this principle. The key bearer shatters peace and brings ruin."

"Aw, Heather's not like that," Goofy tried to defend her, but then he thought for a moment and added, "Okay, maybe a bit, but still..."

"Ruin?" she replied, indignant and irritated, "You don't know what _ruin is_! Don't you care with what could happen to your world if we don't find that stupid keyhole, do you?"

"I protect my people!"

"You don't know whom are you dealing, they're the Heartless."

"I don't need anyone to help, my trident is powerful enough to defend against the darkness."

"Know what, I don't give a freaking damn to what will happen to your world, because I know you will fail!"

"Are you defying my authority?" King Triton hollered, holding his trident tightly.

"You don't scare me!" Heather replied, with a fierce look and summoning the Keyblade.

"Heather, remember he has a trident that fires beams... big, frying beams," Donald said, biting his nails, but was in vain. Heather, when angry, could be reckless enough to attack even the king of the ocean. It looked like that a fight could happen at any moment; it just needed that someone step forward, when Harold intervened, swimming between them, "Guys, this won't help anything."

King Triton regained his posture and agreed with the geeky manta ray, "You're right, fighting won't settle anything. In the end, you helped my daughter, But there is no room in my ocean for you or your key," and he swan away from the grotto.

"'There is no room in _my_ ocean for you or your key'," Heather said, mocking him, "Make good use of_ your_ ocean," Heather yelled, lifting her fist, "Because tomorrow it may not even exist anymore!"

While the discussion was going on, nobody remembered from Ariel. Nobody but Lindsay. The red-haired mermaid was grieved, crying profusely. Lindsay was patting her, trying in vain to cheer her up.

"Why daddy had to be so insensitive, Lindsay?" Ariel sobbed, completely hopeless.

"I don't know," the blonde mermaid replied, also upset, "But Heather has something to do with this! She rat on you! I was trying to say this since you arrived."

"Sorry, Lindsay, sorry. But I can't understand, I never did anything wrong against her."

"Neither me," indignation started to fill her voice, "I just wanted to be her friend, but she used me and then she discarded like I was a out of fashion purse, an ugly dress, a..." Lindsay started to cry along with Ariel, and kept talking, "But we don't need her," she wiped her tears and started to talk confidently, "I know someone who can help you."

"But, who?"

"You'll see. Floatsam! Jetsam!"

Two eels appeared from the algae and started to swim in circles, surrounding both mermaids.

"My, my, the poor child suffers such deep sorrow," the first one, Jetsam, said, sounding like he was chanting.

"What a pity. If only there were something we could do..." also chanting.

"Wait. Maybe she can be of some help."

"Yes. Maybe she can be of some help to you."

Ariel stopped crying and dared to ask, "Who're you talking about?"

Lindsay patted her shoulder, giving a genuine smile to her, "Trust me, she can _reeeally_ help you."

The eels started to swim faster and they kept chanting, "Oh, she would surely help you. She'd make all your dreams come true," the eels formed together, spinning in high speed, creating a black smoke that revealed the purple octopi sea-witch, Ursula.

With a wide grin, she said, with a soft and friendly voice, "You called, my dear?"

Ariel gasped, she knew stories about Ursula, she was there when her father banned her from the palace, "You're Ursula? I was just wondering if..."

"It's all right. Helping others is what I live for, right, Lindsay?"

"Sure," Lindsay happily nodded, her baby-blue eyes couldn't lie about that, "Ursula saved my life once. She's my friend." Ariel's trust in her father was so comprised, that she decided to ignore his warnings about Ursula, and became more and more interested.

"Let me guess: you wish to see other worlds," Ursula made a musing look and keep talking, "That shouldn't be too hard. After all, your new friends came from another world."

"What?" Ariel said, surprised.

"But they had special help: that mysterious key." Ariel now was confused, what did the giant sword shaped as a key had to do with everything? She saw Heather using the Keyblade to defeat enemies and open chests, but, nonetheless, it was just a weapon, or no? Obviously, for Ursula this didn't matter, since she needed to gain Ariel's trust, attending her curiosity.

"Now, now. Cheer up, sweetie. You have something special, too."

"Huh?" One doubt calls other, and this was enough for Ariel to agree with anything she'd propose.

"Now listen carefully," and she approached and started to whispers in her ear, "I think the Keyhole they seek is somewhere in the palace. Now, my dear, if you can take me there without your daddy knowing... I can help you get to those other worlds you long for."

"I'm not sure," Ariel replied, looking down.

"Ariel, we can do this together," Lindsay said, swimming between them, "We can to go place we'd never imagine."

"Okay..." Ariel trailed off, still a bit unsure, but, nevertheless, she guided Ursula and her eels to a back entrance of the palace. Lindsay was beaming, she was ready to travel through the worlds with her ABFFL (A stands for 'aquatic'). During the way, Ursula was muttering some words in a grumpy tone, but the mermaids didn't notice.

After sometime, and after they left and King Triton returned to the palace by the usual way, Heather and her group also came out from the grotto, she turned to her teammates and snapped, "We are departing!"

"But, Heather, we didn't find the key-" Donald tried to reason, but Heather shut his beak.

"When I say I don't give a freaking damn to what will happen to this world, that means I don't give a freaking damn to what will happen to this world! Was I clear?" she yelled her last phrase so loud that made Donald, Goofy and Harold flip around the water.

"I think there's water in my eardrums," moaned Harold, "Wait, manta rays don't have eardrums, but I still have my human head so..." a hard THUD sound was heard, after Heather smashed the Keyblade on Harold's head. The poor guy passed out seeing stars, or better, starfishes.

"Gawrsh! She's not in the mood," thought Goofy, not daring to say anything.

"Where can we return to the ship?" Heather harshly asked.

"I think there's a point at the palace where..." Goofy said, but was interrupted by Heather.

"Grr..." she growled, clenching her fists, "That means I have the possibility to see Triton's ugly face again," she then lifted her arms, "Whatever, I don't want to stay any more time here! GO NOW!" Little they knew that they would have to say more time than they expected.


	23. Under the shiny sea, pt 3

**A.N.: **Another update, I'll do the same thing I did with Far Far Away. I did this, because sounds like next week there will be another writer's block (if I can say it's a writer's block). By the way, nobody noticed the colors of Lindsay's tail, huh?

* * *

King Triton returned to the palace, through the usual way. Looking at his pose while swimming, he was a true monarch, with a deep and penetrative stare that made all sea citizens bow unto him, whenever he passed by them. But, at his heart, he was feeling very upset; guilty, sadness, even anger with himself, he didn't know if it was right what he did with Ariel, what the talked, and the way he talked. "Maybe it's time for her to know the truth," he thought. He came to the palace, put the trident, the source of his power and authority, at its pedestal, and sat on his throne, sighing. At that time, he received a shock and screamed loudly.

"HAHAHA!" he heard a malevolent laugh and his arch-enemy, Ursula, showed up, escorted by her two eels, "Tsk, tsk, Triton," he watched immobile as Ursula tranquilly took the trident, "I never thought this would be SO easy."

"Ursula... how..." he said, panting. His eyes could barely believe in what they were looking: Ursula lifting the trident and taunting him.

"The entire sea now belongs to me," then, she ordered her eels, "Jetsam! Floatsam! Search for the keyhole!"

"Yes, my master," the two eels nodded and started to swim through the entire palace, looking at every place.

"The trident is mine at last!" while holding the trident, she pointed to Ariel and Lindsay, who were very worried with King Triton, "And I couldn't have done it without your help, my dears."

"Ursula, no!" Ariel cried, going to her father. She held him with her arms, but it seemed that the shock only paralyzed him, "I didn't want this!"

"Why not? Aren't you tired of following your dear daddy's orders? Oh, yes," she then made a sinister chuckle, "We had a deal, didn't we? Time for a little journey," she lifted her voice, "To the dark world of the Heartless!"

Ariel gasped, putting her hand at her mouth. Lindsay decided to intervene, "Ursula, this doesn't seem very nice."

"Of course, you idiot," she hollered, in an angry tone, "Especially now, that I don't need you anymore."

"What do you mean?" she asked, in a confused tone.

"Your usefulness is over!" Ursula scowled.

"Wait, I don't understand," the blonde mermaid replied, watering up her eyes, "You are my friend! You saved me!"

"Yes, I saved you! Only to discard you afterwards!" the sea-witch said, in a very harsh tone, intending to really hurt her, "I just needed someone retarded enough to put me inside the palace and you were perfect, since your only ability is act like the most stupid being in the universe," and she ended with an evil and offensive laugh. Lindsay didn't say a word; she swan away from the room, crying aloud and profusely, almost hitting Heather and her team. Also, Flounder was with them, but he preferred to stay quiet, due to Heather's humor.

"Whoa, that was Lindsay?" Goofy remarked.

"Who cares?" Heather retorted, in a rough manner.

"Uhm, she seemed kinda upset," said Donald, bringing an unconscious manta ray mermaid by the tail. Heather neither replied nor looked back.

While Lindsay was swimming away, the eels returned to Ursula with their reports, "We cannot find the Keyhole," said Jetsam. "The Keyhole is not here," added Floatsam.

"What?" she said, surprised. Something as important as the world's keyhole should be at the most important place in the world, but it seemed this logic was subverted.

"What's going on here?" Heather asked, upon her arrival at the room.

Ursula turned away and commented, "Why, we have company," she made a signal for her eels and said, "I'm afraid you're a little late, gal!" and she raise a black smoke that made her disappear.

"Whoa! What happened?" Harold said, waking up, jerking startled, "Did I miss something?"

"Daddy!" Ariel cried, holding King Triton.

"The trident," he panted, in a very bad condition, "We must get it back," everyone was looking worried to him. Everyone, but Heather. She put her hands on her hips and had a conceited smile on her face, like she was enjoying the situation. "Heather," he said, panting, "I need your help."

"Me? What happened to your power? Letting a mere denizen from the outside to take the job of a king?" Heather said, twiddling her fingers nonchalantly.

"Heather, he's hurt, he can't-" Goofy said, but Heather interrupted, placing her palm in front of his nose, saying, "I am giving the cards now!" she said, in a serious tone, "If you want my help, you'll have to apologize and admit I was right and," the smile in her face grew wider yet, "You were wrong."

"How dare you?" Ariel snapped and glaring at her, "Taking advantage of my father only because he's weak!"

"Wait, Ariel," the king of the ocean, but soon to be ex-king, intervened, holding her back, "She's right. I'm sorry, Heather and I was wrong when I tried to ban your Keyblade."

"Oh, wait!" she said, putting her hand over an ear, "I think I didn't hear you apologizing, could you say it louder?"

King Triton only looked down, panting; Ariel needed to talk for him, "Heather, don't abuse."

"Fine," she replied, still with her conceited smile and turned to her teammates, "Come on, let's go. We'll bring back the trident."

"Wait, I'm going with you," Ariel said, swimming in front of her, "My father is hurt and it's all my fault. I have to stop Ursula! And keep an eye on you."

"Whatever," she replied, in a nonchalantly manner, still with her smirk on her face, "You just don't trust me, right?"

"No, I don't," the red-haired mermaid responded, frowning.

"Smart girl," the silver-wigged mermaid returned, unworried.

"That's right," Sebastian added, following them, "I'm behind you, Ariel."

"Okay, you can go with us," she said, sighing, "Flounder, can you take care of daddy?"

"I'll stay here," the yellow fish replied.

Before Heather could leave the palace, the king gave her one last advice, "Wait! Ursula draws power from her cauldron. To defeat Ursula, you must strike her cauldron with magic."

"Oh, really?"

"That makes sense," Harold said, agreeing with King Triton, "It's obvious that Ursula uses magic attacks. If we overcharge her magic power, she won't endure the power."

"Fine, fine..."

"Heather, don't even try to take advantage of daddy again," Ariel snapped, vexed, "I'm with you only because daddy trust in you, since you already worked for him."

"I don't know what you are talking about," Heather replied.

"C'mon, you said to him I was outside the palace," Ariel responded, tightening her eyebrows.

"Please, what did they put on your breakfast today?" the silver-wigged mermaid mocked her.

"Lindsay told me..."

"Lindsay is an idiot." Heather stated flatly. Ariel didn't reply, only looked down.

But, before they could head to Ursula's lair, they had to pass by the garden of the palace and some Heartless were there. They also could hear Lindsay crying. She was very distressed, she didn't stop crying. A Screwdiver was about to hit her with its spear.

"Quick! Someone do something!" Ariel shouted. Harold swung his num-yos and hurled at the Heartless. The enemy was entangled and Ariel took advantage to use a spiral wave against it, and also attacking any Heartless that tried to approach Lindsay. Donald cast Fira at other nearby Screwdiver and kept casting until it became dust.

"How did you cast Fira under the water?" Harold asked, while hitting a Sea Neon with his nunchakus.

"It's magic," the octopi-duck replied, while casting Blizzara at two others Screwdivers.

"I see," Harold stopped, to wonder, "Because it's technically impossible to lighten fire under the water, but if the temperature is high enough, there's a chance, like those special welds and-Ouch!" while he was thinking, three Screwdiver approached him and started to stab him. Donald shook his head and helped his manta ray friend, casting Thunder. Goofy used his ramming attack against those Screwdiver and others shield attacks. Heather managed to defeat some nearby Sea Neons. After the last enemy was defeat, three giant blue angler fish-like Heartless showed up. They were the Aquatanks, and every enemy was also bringing three Screwdivers. The scuba Heartless detached from the Aquatanks and pointed their spears against our heroes (and Heather).

"Gawrsh! Enemy reinforcements!" Goofy said, readying his shield.

"If they can bring reinforcements, so do us!" Heather replied, lifting the Keyblade, "Starfire, come to us!" The Keyblade started to glow and release a beam to the sky and the Tamaran warrior appeared surrounded by an orange smoke, flying over them.

"Starfire here, ready to dispatch the target," she said, grinning to them, holding both hands.

"We're under the sea," Harold said, surprised, "Like, how can you breathe and talk normally?"

"I'm just a spirit, duh!"

"I don't care," said Heather, pointing to the Heartless, "Just destroy them!" She then proceed to slap Harold's head again, "Don't complain about physics!" she snapped, "As long it works on our favor, I don't care, so STOP BEING NERDY!" Harold only rubbed his head, muttering, "Gosh!"

"Leave it to me," she said, cracking her knuckles and her eyes started to glow green and charged energy at her hands. She started to fly, surrounding them and launching green energy orbs from her hands. The attack was devastating and, in less than a minute, almost all the Heartless were defeated. There was a last Screwdiver, which was holding tightly its spear. It felt something poking its shoulder and turned to check, only to receive a hard punch from Starfire. A heart came out and the enemy force was officially defeated.

"Bye, call me again, when you need," and Starfire started to glow and vanished.

"I take back what I said," said Heather, impressed, "That alien-girl could be somewhat useful."

"Lindsay, are you alright?" Ariel asked her blonde friend, who was still upset.

"You should have let me die..." Lindsay trailed off, very sad.

"Lindsay, don't say this..."

"It's true! I let this happen again."

"Happen what?"

"Someone took advantage of me again..."

"What do you mean with again?"

"First was Heather, and now Ursula," and the blonde mermaid sobbed even more yet. Ariel hugged her, while glaring at Heather. She didn't even need an explanation to understand that Heather was involved.

"What?" she asked nonchalantly. Then, she started to feel that itchy feeling in her nape again. She started to contort, trying to scratch her nape.

"What's happening to her?" Ariel asked, scratching her head.

"It always happens when her conscience attacks," explained Harold.

"Grr... Yes, I manipulated Lindsay, I used her, but I apologized," instead of the feeling stop, it became more intense, "Grr... Sorry, Lindsay, I'm sorry!" The feeling, then, finally stopped. Lindsay stopped to cry and was open-mouthed. "When we were dragged by the flood to that island, I was abandoned by Gwen and Duncan, and then I realized I did something awfully wrong with you. You just wanted to be my friend and I gave you nothing in return."

"Heather..." Lindsay trailed off, "I saw your apology, but I didn't believe, because you still were the same nasty person in TDA. Only without power and without hair..."

Heather stared at Lindsay, blinked twice, crossed her arms around her chest, and turned away from them, looking down, but refusing to show them her long face.

"But, Lindsay," Harold said, trying to change the topic, "In first place how did you come here? We know you aren't a natural mermaid."

Lindsay sighed and started to explain.

FLASHBACK

It was a full moon, clear night. Lindsay, still smelling like Owen's puke was struggling to stay at the surface of the sea, because she had forgotten how to swim. After much fruitless struggle, she gave up, "This is the end? Am I going to the great beauty parlor in the sky?" she thought as she sank into the water, her tears mixed with the salty water, the same salty water that was starting to penetrate in her lungs, beautiful lung, by the way. Everything seemed lost for her and she passed out. But, before, the last thing she saw was a purple shadow.

After some time, she opened her eyes, "Where am I?" she looked to a mirror and some beauty products and shouted, "Am I where I think I am?" then, she talked in her normal volume, "Strange, I thought the sky would be brighter... And," she looked to the floor to see the a blue tail, with yellow and black stripes and she yelled again, "A monster!" she tried to run, but she couldn't even feel her legs, I mean, she couldn't realize she didn't have legs anymore. "Wait, why I can't run?! Oh, no, the monster already got me and I'm going to be lunch," and she started to weep.

"Don't cry, my dear," a voice said from another room.

"Oh, no, the monster! Please, don't eat me, I'm low on fat, due to my diet, and I know monsters like fatty meals," she begged to the 'monster' voice.

"Ho, ho, ho, my dear, I won't eat you. Actually I saved you..."

"Ahn?"

The figure finally came to the room where Lindsay was.

"Who are you?" she asked.

"I am Ursula and I love to help people," the sea-witch answered, along with her two pet eels.

"She helped you," Jetsam said.

"Indeed, she helped you," Floatsam added.

"How? I mean, this is the afterlife, right?" Lindsay asked, in a completely innocent manner.

"No, no, no, you didn't die," Ursula replied, grinning, "Actually, you almost died by drowning, but I saved you, giving you the ability of breathing under the water."

"Ohhh, you mean, I..." she gasped when she realized that the monster's tail was, in fact, her tail, "I am a mermaid?"

"Yes, you are, beautiful."

Her worried look changed into a surprised look, then into a happy one. She tried to swim, a bit clumsy, crashing into the furniture, but nonetheless she was feeling great with her newly-acquired ability.

"Don't touch my things, you..." Ursula started to talk in a bossy manner, but when Lindsay looked to her with a concerned look, Ursula cleared her throat, and kept talking in her friendly voice, "Don't worry, with time, you'll get used."

"Okay... I'm happy for not having feet, you know, my original feet was ugly, actually the only ugly part of me, I never liked, but now I have a beautiful tail!"

"Yes, you are beautiful," Ursula said, grinning in a weird manner, without moving her lips, "Now, come to the cauldron, I have to show you something."

"Okay," and she went there. Ursula used the cauldron to show an image of Ariel, saying, "Now, listen Lindsay." Her name is Ariel and she loves to make new friends. Why don't you go there with her?"

"Sure, I can even talk about you-"

"No, no, no, don't talk about me," she replied, again, grinning in the weird way, "When she really needs me, you talk about me. It's a surprise."

"Uhm... got it," the blonde mermaid said, with a smile.

"Now, there's one last thing I need to show you," then, she made an image of Heather, in her human form, to appear. Lindsay frowned when she saw her. "She'll come to our world someday and you must be prepared. And I know she's no good."

"I will!" the blonde mermaid replied, with a confident tone.

After some time, the scene goes to the Undersea Valley. Ariel was swimming along with Flounder and Sebastian, "C'mon, we'll get late for the dinner," she said, in front of them, "Daddy won't like if we get too much late."

"Wait, Ariel," moaned Sebastian, panting heavily, "Let me rest a while." He leaned against a rock, unaware that a pair of blue eyes was watching him. When the crab turned to take a nap, he freaked out when he saw the pair of blue eyes. This called Ariel's attention and, along with Flounder, was surprised to see the new mermaid.

"Hi, who are you?" she asked.

"My name is Lindsay and, I, uhm," she stopped to think for a while, "I'm new by these waters and I'm," she stopped again to rub her head and remember Ursula's orders, "lost. Yes, I'm lost!"

"My name is Ariel, and these are Flounder and Sebastian," they waved to her, "You said you was lost, Lindsay? Come to our palace, my father will help you."

"Okay, by the way, I loved you hair, it's so natural."

"Thanks," the red-haired mermaid said, with a giggle.

END FLASHBACK

"... So I would never guess that Ursula would be so evil. I'm sorry, Ariel, I failed you..."

"Lindsay, you may be fooled by that witch, but your intentions still are pure," she grabbed her hands and said, "I made my mistakes too, but I'll be your friend, no matter what."

Lindsay felt touched, and hugged her friend. Harold, Donald, Goofy and Sebastian sniveled almost crying, but Heather refused to turn to them, although she had heard everything.

"That also means Heather didn't delate Ariel," Goofy said, "Ursula told you, didn't Lindsay?"

"Uhum," she nodded, "Sorry, Ariel. I know how mean Heather can be, I just wanted to protect you. It's strange she didn't do anything yet..."

"But if wasn't her, who did it?" Ariel asked, pointing her finger to her mouth.

"Aham," Sebastian decided to talk, "It was me."

Ariel gasped, "But why Sebastian?"

"King Triton has ordered me to keep an eye on you," the red crab explained, looking down, "His orders were clear. Please, forgive me, Ariel. I'd never imagine things would reach this point..."

"It's okay, Sebastian," he looked to him with a smile, "You are one of the most loyal subjects to my father and like a second father to me."

"Thanks, Ariel," Sebastian said, smiling.

"But, what are we gonna do?" asked Lindsay, in a hopeless voice, "I just want to die or disappear. I'm so ashamed..."

"Lindsay," at last, Heather blurted out something, without turning to them, "You don't want to die. You don't want to disappear. You want," she finally turned her face to them, with a smirk, talking in a slick tone, "Revenge!"

"Uhm?"

"You know where Ursula's lair is," Heather explained, swimming to her, "You could lead us there, and then we can kick the old witch's butt. Show her what happens when people mess with you. What do you think?"

First, Lindsay stared with a blank expression, "Why do you want to help me?"

"Do you want my help or no?"

Lindsay was without words and then her face turned to a slight smirk, "Okay, I think that's your department."

"It's like I said earlier," Ariel said, placing her hand in the middle of them, "Together we can't be defeated, let's forget our differences and retrieve the trident!" Harold placed his fin over Ariel's hand, and so Goofy, Donald and even Sebastian. Heather and Lindsay nodded to each other and placed their hands over theirs.


	24. Under the shiny sea, pt 4

**A.N.:** Last chapter of the story arc is here. Please, leave a comment, I"d like to know about your impressions. Also, a warning: gratuitous biology, gratuitous Russian and gratuitous Beatles. Happy Mother's Day.

* * *

The group arrived at the sunken ship area, after taking the shortcut next to Ariel's grotto. The area was silent, as always, but Heather was uneasy about it, since she was sensing some emanations from ships. However, if they'd found Heartless, they wouldn't be surprised.

"Where do we go now, Lindsay?" Harold asked.

"There's a passage behind that rock," Lindsay said confident, pointing to big boulder, but then she scratched her head, "Or it was behind the other rock, or..."

"Don't tell me you've blanked out!" Heather said, facepalming.

Lindsay got nervous, "Ow, I can't remember, but I don't think that rock should be there."

"Is there the possibility that Ursula changed some details to confuse Lindsay?" Donald suggested.

"Oh, no," Lindsay moaned, placing her hands on her head, and shaking her head, "Remember brain, remember!"

"Lindsay, you can do it," Ariel encouraged her.

"I think that can wait," Heather said, summoning the Keyblade, when she saw a shark, the same shark that attacked them earlier, approaching, along with three Sheltering Zones surrounding the group. The shark charged at full speed against Heather and she swan to avoid the attack. One Sheltering Zone tried to slap Ariel with its tentacle, but she dodged and used Spiral Wave to fight back. Other attacked Donald, but Goofy used his shield to repress the attack and Harold used his dancing nunchakus technique to hit the enemy. The last one tried to nail Lindsay, but she dodged the attacks, swimming away from it and Sebastian tried to attack with his pincers, with little success. The Heartless shoved the crab away.

"I got you," Ariel said, while helping Sebastian.

"Be careful," Harold warned, "These things will split up when we defeat them."

Donald cast Fire at the one which Ariel had attacked earlier and defeated it. "Huh?" he said, a bit surprised, "That thing didn't split..."

Harold, Goofy and Ariel kept attacking the Heartless, while Heather was avoiding the shark's attacks, but, at one point, the shark finally got her, delving his teeth on her tail. The force of the bite, made Heather scream aloud, but the shark hadn't finished. He shook his head, increasing the damage to the Keyblade wielder. After the first shock, Heather got angry and started to stab his head. The shark let her go and she started to smash the shark's head with all her remaining forces. After receiving many hits, the shark decided to get away.

"Run, coward!" Heather yelled, still feeling the pain. She took an Elixir to recover her health. On the other hand, the remaining Heartless were defeated, after Donald discovered a quicker way to defeat them.

"Heather, are you alright?" Goofy asked.

"Ursula... will... pay," Heather panted and grabbed Lindsay shoulders, shaking her, "Where's the passage?"

"It was supposed to be behind that boulder," Lindsay answered, worried.

Sebastian cleared his throat and said, "Need some help? I'll show you how it's done." He dug in the sand and pressed a switch and the boulder started to move.

"How did you do that?" Harold asked.

"Ah, that's simple," he replied, "I've been tracking Ursula's activities for a while, under orders from the King, and I discovered how she leaves her grotto."

"Any words, Lindsay?" Heather forlornly asked. The blonde mermaid only looked down, saying, "I didn't pay attention." Heather only rolled her eyes.

"C'mon, Lindsay," Ariel said, poking gently her shoulder, "Let's keep moving."

The passage led them to a cave that looked like a giant dark-red sea serpent. They entered by the 'mouth', and they saw some Search Ghosts at a room with a bifurcation.

"Now, I remember," Lindsay said, confident again, "We must take the left way, but there's some monsters."

"Hmm, Search Ghosts," Harold said, "They seem to act like surveillance cams, so if we don't let them know we're here, we can make a surprise attack."

"I liked," Ariel stated, "Ursula won't even know what will hit her, right, Heather?" she looked to her side, but Heather wasn't there. "Heather?"

Heather was there, fighting alone the Search Ghosts, attacking with relentless strikes. The enemies barely had a chance to fight back.

"Gosh!"

"What?" she said, finishing the last one.

"There goes our stealth element..." Harold trailed off.

"I don't care with this stealth element," she said, mocking his voice, "I prefer to make sure to Ursula that I'm coming."

They swan to Ursula's main room. In the way, there were some tiny grey creatures, that looked like polyps, which popped from the floor, every single one of them was staring at the gang.

"Spooky, a-hyuck," commented Goofy.

"There it is," Lindsay said, "Ursula's lair is there." Her room was big, there was place for her mirror and make-up products, and had a big cauldron next to what looked like a metallic rounded door.

"Come out!" Donald yelled, "You can't run!"

"Your time has come!" Sebastian shouted, raising his pincer.

Ursula came out from his hiding chamber, with an intimidating frown, which scared everyone, but Heather.

"Where's the trident, Ursula?" the silver-wigged mermaid replied, holding the Keyblade and with an equally intimidating grimace.

"You fools!" she hollered, "I don't need of the trident to defeat weaklings like you!" and she started to cast spells at her cauldron. The cauldron started to burble and glow red and fireballs started to pour down from the roof.

"Lindsay, Sebastian," Ariel said, "Be careful, stay behind to not have problems." They both nodded in agreement as they avoided the fireballs. Heather advanced to Ursula's direction and stabbed twice her, but she countered her attacks spinning around.

"AHAHAHAHA!" she laughed as she tackled everyone with her spinning attack. Heather, Harold and Goofy were hit.

"Heather," Donald shouted in the middle of the battle, "Remember from King Triton's advice!"

Heather grumbled under her breath but decided to follow the advice; she pointed the Keyblade to the cauldron and said, nonchalant, "Fira". Her wig changed to a glowing red and a fireball came out from the Keyblade, hitting the cauldron.

"AHAHAHAHA!" Ursula laughed, after spinning to protect herself from Ariel's charge, "You don't think I wouldn't know my own weakness."

"What?" Heather said, dumbfounded. The cauldron started to burble even more and more fireballs fell from the roof.

"It's rainnin' fire under the sea," Harold said, avoiding the fireballs, still unresigned with the apparent violation of physical laws.

"Triton may have defeated me before," the octopi-sea-witch shouted, lifting her arms, while the fireballs were falling, "My cauldron is improved, you need more than one fireball to defeat me, AHAHAHAHA!"

"Thanks for the tip, idiot!" Heather mocked, while pointing the Keyblade to the cauldron.

"Huh?" Heather started to fire a series of Fira spells against the cauldron. As the fireballs were hitting the cauldron, the more it burbled and finally it exploded due to overcharge. Ursula screamed and fainted and the cauldron returned to its normal state.

"That's our chance!" Heather yelled. The group proceed to attack Ursula, Heather with the Keyblade, Harold with his nunchakus, Donald with his staff, Goofy with his shield and Ariel with her tail attacks.

"She's waking up," Goofy noticed when Ursula started to open her eyes. She screamed and shoved them away with her spinning attack and, after she stopped, she restarted to cast spells on her cauldron. Floatsam and Jetsam also decided to help their master and approached by behind, where Lindsay and Sebastian were.

"Look at what we have here, the stupid girl," hissed Jetsam.

"We have the stupid girl with the annoying crustacean," added Floatsam.

Lindsay and Sebastian gasped, but she made a combative look and slapped the eels with her tail, "Bad fish!"

"Ow," Floatsam said, somewhat dumbfounded, "Didn't see that coming."

"Didn't see that coming, too," Jetsam added, also baffled and they received another slap that launched both eels next to the cauldron.

"Who's stupid now?" taunted Lindsay, proud of herself.

"What are you doing here?" Ursula said, looking at her weakened two eels, "Get up and fight!" She made the cauldron glow yellow and cast electric spells around the room. Two of them hit the eels and they got up, surrounded by static. They bit Donald, who counterattacked with Blizzara, while Goofy and Harold tried to attack Ursula, but she span in high speed and sent them away.

"Heather, let's use Thunder!" Ariel cried, picking a Thunder potion. Heather nodded and lifted the Keyblade and Ariel opened the bottle, launching the bolts. The attack made the cauldron burble more, but wasn't enough to make it backfire. Heather lifted again the Keyblade, but Floatsam bit her arm, causing an electric discharge to pass through her body, making her grit her teeth. She shook her arm and hit the eel.

"Someone help!" Ariel cried, while dodging Jetsam. When Jetsam was about to bite Ariel, Lindsay intervened and hit the eel with her tail, while Harold helped Heather dealing with Floatsam. The vision of her two pets getting beaten didn't please Ursula, who decided to charge against them.

"Nobody hurts my poopsies!" she cried, lifting her clenched fists and making a menacing look. They thought she was about to launch a massive attack against them, but Sebastian came in her front and pinched her nose with his pincers.

"Argh! Stupid crab!" she screamed and shook her head but, the more she shook, the harder Sebastian gripped. Heather, Donald and Ariel took advantage of the situation to cast Thunder spells against the cauldron, which quickly exploded again. Ursula and her two eels fainted and received many blows from the group. When they noticed Ursula returning to her self, they backed away to avoid her spinning attack. She glanced at her two eels, which were adrift and disappeared into the darkness, defeated.

"Uh-oh," she said, surprised, as Heather pointed the Keyblade against her with her same intimidating look of the beginning of the battle. She just said, "You'll pay for this," and retreated by the same place she came.

"Come back," Heather yelled, while hitting the closed door.

"Heather," intervened Harold, "She's gone."

"But she still has the trident," pointed Goofy.

"The only place she could go is the open sea now," Ariel observed, "Let's go. We must get the trident back. Heather, your tail should be strong enough to swim against the current by now."

"Yeah, right," Heather replied, unworried.

"Wait, look at what I found at the table," Lindsay said, holding a paper.

"Water-proof paper?" Harold mused.

"Here says Magneto report 3," Donald said, reading the paper, "Let's keep it for a while."

"Lindsay, Sebastian, I really underestimated you," Ariel said, "Thanks for the help."

"No problem, Ariel," Sebastian replied, "You don't know how afraid I was when I pinched that old witch's nose."

"I have to admit, Lindsay. Perhaps you aren't a complete waste of human meat," Heather complimented, in a very back-handed way.

"At least my hair is prettier than yours," Lindsay replied back, smirking. Heather frowned, that might be the standard reply of anyone Heather tried to mock (there's a proverb which says "if you have a roof built with glass tiles, better watch your mouth"), but this made her remind from the menace she did in the first season, when Lindsay was her lackey. "'If you team up with LeShawna against me again, I'll cut off your hair', hmpf, how ironic the situation became," she thought.

After leaving the reef, the group swam to the open sea. It was very dark, it was a new moon night. The sea was too quiet, and was a surprise, when they heard Ursula's voice thundering through the water. "You pathetic fools! I rule the sea now!" they saw Ursula lifting the trident, glowing with the power. A crown made of coral embodying the power of the trident appeared on her head and she started to become bigger and bigger. Now, she was, like, five times her normal size and swinging the trident, she cried, "AHAHAHAHA! The sea and all its spoils bow to my power!"

Everyone gasped and stared dumbfounded Ursula growing in size. Sebastian started to "cry".

"Sebastian, are you scared like us, aren't you?" Ariel asked, after gulping.

"It's not sadness, it's fear," Sebastian answered, chattering his teeth.

"Ewww," Harold said, very disgusted, "You shouldn't make it in public!"

"Sorry, I couldn't help myself," Sebastian backed away, a bit ashamed.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Heather stopped watching Ursula's transformation to ask Harold about, irritated.

"C'mon, you should know, biology clas-," but, before Harold could finish, Heather slapped his head, in a very annoyed way.

"Okay, Ariel," Heather said, "How are we going to defeat Ursula now?"

"I don't have the slightest idea," Ariel said, gazing at Ursula, who was lifting the trident, "But I think we should SWIM!" and the swan away, when the trident glow, casting Thunders against them.

"AAAHHH!" Lindsay screamed, avoiding a Thunder, "Thunders everywhere!" She, along with Sebastian, retreated to a safe area.

"Be careful," Donald shouted, while avoiding another Thunder, "We need to fight back!"

"We must use our heads, gawrsh!" Goofy replied, but he was hit by a Thunder.

"Head! That's it!" Heather said, like she did an important discovery (and at that point was really important). She swan to Ursula's face and started to stab with all her combos. The attacks annoyed Ursula and Harold, Donald, Goofy and Ariel joined her to attack. Ursula slapped them away, and took a breath to spit out explosive air bubbles. Heather tried to break them, attacking with the Keyblade, but the bubbles exploded in her front, dizzying her. Harold and Goofy were hit, but Donald and Ariel escaped and attacked Ursula; Donald cast Blizzara and Ariel used her spiral wave attack. After recovering, Heather cast Aero on herself and attacked Ursula. The sea-witch got irritated and yelled, "Get ready for this!" She opened her mouth and started to forceful inhale water. Everyone was being sucked in and, when they were below her teeth, Ursula chomped Heather, Harold and Ariel.

"Not very tasty," she taunted, with a menacing smirk and launched another wave of explosive bubbles. Donald and Ariel used Cure to restore everyone's health.

"We need to spare resource," Harold said, "Hit-and-run tactics looks like to be the only viable strategy."

"I'm afraid he's right," Ariel agreed, "We must be careful, maybe if we attack behind her head."

"Goofy and I will distract her," Donald said, readying his staff.

"Do we?" Goofy replied, a bit insecure.

"Let's go, we can't let her use so much attacks!" Heather said, holding tightly the Keyblade.

The charge started with Donald and Goofy striking by the middle. When Ursula swung the trident against them, Harold, Heather and Ariel advanced by the flanks. The distraction was successful and Ursula didn't notice and they started to attack with their most powerful attacks; Heather using an aquatic variation of the Sonic Blade, Harold with his dancing nunchakus attack, and Ariel with her Spiral Wave. At that point, obviously, Ursula noticed them and turned away, only to be hit by Donald's Fira and Blizzara and Goofy's Tornado attack. She tried to launch explosive bubbles against, but she missed. She got furious again and yelled, "Now I'm angry, time to teach you some respect!" she lifted the trident high again and electric balls popped out above, surrounding them. The balls became lightings and hit everyone. The sea-witch took advantage and sucked in everyone. They had to swim once more against the current, but, slowly, she was dragging them into her mouth. Heather was swimming the stronger she could and Goofy was beside her.

"Goofy, I need your help," she said.

"Huh? Gwaaa..." Heather grabbed one of his fins and launched him right into Ursula's mouth. Goofy only had time to withdraw inside his shell. When Ursula saw Goofy coming, she chomped hard him, but things didn't come as she planned. Ursula bit Goofy's carapace and shield so strong, that a loud crack sound was heard. The sea-witch blurted out a moan and let the trident escape from her hands; her frontal teeth chinked and she took her hands to her mouth, still moaning. The group took advantage of the situation to attack her head even more. At one point, Heather accidentally cut the cord of her pendant, and the shell-shaped ornament detached from her.

"AAAARGH!" Ursula moaned as they, like in Gulliver story, were taking down the giant with their cleverness and strength. She used her hands to repel them and shouted, "GRRRR! THIS IS MY REVENGE AND WON'T BE PRETTY!" and she opened her mouth, but not for inhale water and use the sucking attack, she was charging energy inside her mouth.

Harold gasped, "Gosh! She's charging her lazer!"

"This attack will devastate us!" Donald screamed.

"Oh, no!" Lindsay also gasped.

"I don't wanna die now!" Sebastian groaned, covering his eyes.

Heather gritted her teeth, also worried but, then, she saw the shell floating adrift and said, "Lindsay, Ariel, we must kick that shell inside her mouth before she attacks. Let's do it together!" they nodded and followed Heather.

"Now!" the three mermaids said at the same they kicked the shell. The shell quickly gained speed, the faster that something could go under the water, and entered right at Ursula's mouth, going into the throat. The energy dissipated, and she immediately started to choke. She held her throat with her hands, but she was still suffocating. Bubbles started to come out from her mouth and she started to reduce her size. In the end, she dissipated into the darkness. They won the battle.

"Yeah, Ursula's gone!" Harold cheered.

"Goofy, are you okay?" Donald asked, worried.

"A-hyuck, my shell is harder than I expected," Goofy mused, "But I wouldn't do that again..."

"Heather!" Donald screamed, irritated, "What was that? Goofy could have," he stopped to gulp, "Died!"

Heather crossed her arms and said, nonchalant, "But he didn't, and we won."

"But at which price?" Donald mumbled.

"The victory price. Remember, I have the key, I'm the most important, so I have to sacrifice you sometimes," Heather replied, but her nape started to itch again, "But my risks are, in most part of the time, calculated, ugh! I don't want to lose you! Now give this to the turtledog," and the itchy feeling stopped again, and she gave him a potion. Donald didn't seem very pleased with her comments, and then she explained her strategy, "If there's something TDA taught me is that the most efficient way to defeat a fat one is to destroy her teeth."

"Here is the trident," said Ariel, picking the trident and smiling, "Now, let's go back. We all did a good job."

Later at the throne room, Ariel gave the trident to King Triton. He had already recovered from his injuries and was in high spirits.

"Daddy," Ariel sighed, "I'm so sorry."

"Please don't be angry with her," Lindsay intervened, "It was my fault too."

"It's my fault. You followed Ursula because," the king sighed, looking down, "I wouldn't let you follow your heart. And when you found that crystal, I lost my temper and destroyed it."

"Oh, yeah, the crystal!" Goofy said, curious, "Why did you destroy it?"

"That crystal held the power to reveal the Keyhole," King Triton explained, "The Keyhole is dangerous. I had to keep you away from it at any cost."

"Daddy..." Ariel's voice trailed off. She finally understood that her father just wanted the best for her and, sometimes, he just exaggerates, but he still does everything with the best of the intentions.

"Keybearer," King Triton directed his voice to Heather, "I have one more request: Seal the Keyhole. My trident also holds the power to reveal the Keyhole. Will you do it?"

"Yeah, right," Heather replied, smirking, "That means I was right."

"Indeed, even people like you have their chances," the king said, "You will be a heroine, whether you like or not."

Heather stared nonchalant, but inside her, she was thinking, "What did you mean?"

"Where is the Keyhole, Daddy?"

"You should know better than anyone. It's in your grotto."

"Really... Heather, let's go," Goofy said.

"Wait, Ariel," King Triton ordered, "Take the trident with you. You are my daughter and someday you can even rule this world, you have the right to take it with you."

"Thanks, Daddy," Ariel replied, as the king handed the trident to her. They went to Ariel's grotto. The trident started to glow and Ariel pointed it to a shelf. The light that came out from the trident revealed a transparent keyhole to them. Heather pointed the Keyblade to the keyhole shot a beam that locked the keyhole, sealing the world.

"Another world cleared from the Heartless," Harold said, in a happy tone.

"Oh, boy!" Donald cheered, pumping his fists.

"Tell me, Lindsay," Ariel said, looking at the blonde mermaid, "Your world, what's it like?"

"Oooh, about that," Lindsay replied, rubbing the back of her head, a bit nervous, "Sorry for lying to you, right, Heather?"

"I'm not sorry at all," she stated flatly.

"It's okay," Ariel chuckled, "Now, to tell the truth, it doesn't make any difference."

"Heather still helped me, Ariel and the world," she replied back, "Now those incredibly cute fishes from the reef can swim in peace again," she happily said, clasping both hands in the air, "I never thought fishes would be so cute, before coming to this world."

Heather rolled her eyes and talked, crossing her arms, making a serious pose, "My victory over Ursula wouldn't be complete if we didn't defeat her together. Or else my revenge would be pointless."

"Ursula could be mean, but Heather is meaner," Harold asserted "Fighting fire with napalm!" Heather just rolled her eyes and Goofy asked, "What is napalm?"

"That doesn't mean we're going to be friends again, but," she said as she glomped her, "Thank you!"

"Okay, don't push it!" Heather replied, annoyed, but inside her she was glad that Lindsay didn't hate her anymore. Lindsay wasn't of the type that holds grudge forever.

"Now, I'm afraid you're going to leave, right?" Ariel asked, with sadness in her voice.

"Sorry, Ariel," Lindsay replied, "You're my ABFFL, but this is not my world, I need to come back to my world."

"Aham, about that, Lindsay," Harold interrupted, "We need to talk..."

"But, remember me Ariel, I'll never forget you."

"I'll never forget you too," and they hugged each other. After that, she also hugged Flounder and Sebastian.

"Besides, if you can travel to other worlds, maybe I can, too," Ariel reflected, with a bright smile on her face, swimming to the 'window' at the top of her grotto, "So many places I want to see... I know I'll get there someday. I'll find a way somehow. I'm sure of it."

"Well, if you find it," Sebastian said, in a deadpan tone, "Do me a favor and leave me out of it."

Ariel chuckled again and grabbed a thing from her shelf, "This is from my collection," she said, handing the Crabclaw keychain, "I want you to have it."

"Well, thanks, I think..." Heather replied.

They returned to the gorge, where they were saying the last farewells, when they started to hear a music.

_Salyut otsam i nashim dedam, _

_Zavyetam ih vsegda verni. _

_Teper' nishto nye astanovit _

_Pabedniy shag radnoy strain. _

"What's that?" Ariel asked. Everyone readied their weapons.

"I don't know," Harold replied, "Is it human?"

_Ti plivi, plivi besstrashna _

_Gordast' Severnih Maryey. _

_Revolyutsii nadeshda, sgustok vyeri vseh lyudey. _

"Oooh, my head is hurting," Lindsay moaned, rubbing her head.

_Ti plivi, plivi besstrashna _

_Gordast' Severnih Maryey. _

_Revolyutsii nadeshda, sgustok vyeri vseh lyudey. _

"I think it repeated," Heather observed. Then, they were covered by a big shadow, when they looked, they saw a big submarine-shaped gummi ship.

_V okytabre, v okytabre, _

_Reportuyem mi nashi pabedi. _

_V okytabre, v okytabre, noviy mir dali nam nashi dedi._

The music panned out, when a compartment opened, revealing a man in diving suit, and he said, through a communicator, "Congratulations!"

"Oh," Heather rolled her eyes, "I should have know..."

"Chip?" Lindsay asked.

"It's Chris," the host said, in a bored tone.

"So, what's the big idea?" Heather asked, putting her hands on her hips.

"I used 'Hymn to Red October', the most dramatic submarine music I could found, to make a spectacular entrance, and it was awesome, right?"

"You don't understand a single word from the lyrics," Harold stated.

"Neither do you," Chris replied back.

"Man, how I'd like that homeschooled guy were here!" the manta ray geek talked under his breath.

"But, what did you do with your ship?" Donald asked.

"Ah, Geppetto and Dexter worked on the Nakombi," Chris answered, "Geppetto is the proof that the proverb 'you can't teach new tricks to a old dog is wrong'," he grabbed a yellow octagonal jewel and said, "But, now let's go to the business," he stopped to clear his throat, "For defeating Ursula and sealing a new world, you'll receive this," and he tossed the jewel to Heather, "This allow you to upgrade your Thunder spell to Thundara."

"Is it over?" Heather asked, unsurprised.

"Alright! Stay tuned for more TOTAL... DRAMA... WORLDS! Chef put some music," and he returned to the sub-gummi-ship moved to take off.

_In the town where I was born  
Lived a man who sailed to sea_

"He's a strange guy, huh," Ariel noted.

_And he told us of his life  
In the land of submarines..._

"You don't know how," Heather replied, waving her hand dismissively.

_We all live in a yellow submarine  
Yellow submarine, yellow submarine..._

And Chris gummi ship took off to the space.


	25. Fearful Funny Function, pt 1

**A.N.:** Over 100,000 words, weee! First TDI crossover to surpass this mark. There it is, Halloween Town, I hope you enjoy. By the way, I forgot to explain something at the last chapter: in some crustaceans, their excretory system is located in the head, next to the eyes, by a different glandula, so Sebastian basically peed his non-existant pants.

* * *

_Last time on TOTAL... DRAMA... WORLDS! Heather and her allies arrived at the waterworld called Atlantica. Donald used his magic to transform them into sea-dwelling creatures to look for the keyhole and they met new allies, Ariel, Flounder and Sebastian, and Heather could face her former cannon fodder, hot blonde Lindsay. After all Lindsay was, again, deceived by a witch, by the way, not Heather this time, namely, Ursula, enemy of Ariel's father and ruler of the sea, King Triton; she, along with Ariel, allowed the incredibly ugly witch to steal the trident. The poor Lindsay was devastated, but, with help of her former friend, she led them to Ursula's lair, where they fought the sea-witch. Twice, and the last one she was BIG! With a sly blow, she was defeated, and they could bringing back the trident to his rightful owner. After sealing the world, they are now going to a new one. What will they find there? Will ever Heather and Lindsay make peace for real? And will Harold receive less slaps from Heather? Find more at TOTAL... DRAMA... WORLDS!_

"Daffy, what does this button do?" Lindsay asked Donald, while he was driving the royal gummi ship through the space.

"I'm not Daffy! Don't talk about this name! Just because he thinks he's better than me..." Donald snapped and mumbled, very bothered, "Don't touch anything! You may put us in trouble!"

"But there's so many buttons," Lindsay innocently observed, while looking at the blinking buttons at the panel. Donald couldn't take off his eyes from the view, but he was very angry with the constant questions made by Lindsay. "Oooh, the light pink one is so cute, I wanna press it." The button was labeled, in capital letters, 'DO SOMETHING STUPID LINDSAY!' The blonde happily pressed the button and the ship's shields were turned off.

"Huh, what's happening to the shields?" Donald asked. At that moment, Heartless ships showed up from the darkness of space and immediately started to shoot at the gummi ship.

"Wak, bombers!" Donald cried upon seeing the enemy. They were a squadron of bomber Heartless ships, capable of shooting concentrate projectiles.

"What's going on?" Heather asked, feeling a jolt at the ship.

"We're being attacked and our shields are down," Donald said, desperately trying to maneuver the ship.

"At this rate, we won't stand longer!" Chip said, coming from the engine room.

"Last shot destroyed the cannons, we can't fight back," Goofy reported.

"We need to retreat," Donald said, "To that world." Donald avoided the shots, doing zig-zags and managed to take the ship to the atmosphere of the world. The bombers were slower so they couldn't pursue the ship.

"Phew, that was close," said Harold, getting up from the floor.

"Now, would you tell me what happened?" Heather asked, irritated.

"Well, I pressed that button and..." Lindsay tried to explain, rubbing the back of her head, but she was interrupted by Heather, "And WHY do we have THIS button?" she snapped, after taking a look at the button.

"Uhm, I don't know," Donald answered, looking sheepishily, "I didn't build the ship."

"Idiot design," Heather muttered and summoned the Keyblade.

"Heather, you won't beat anyone, right?" Donald asked, looking nervous now.

"I wouldn't waste my energies on some dorky duck," Heather scoffed, putting one hand on her hip, "We're on a new world, so that means I have to kill some Heartless and seal the stupid keyhole, right?" Donald nodded, but staring blankly at her, and she continued, "So what are we waiting for? The sooner the better. Let the carnage begin," she said, faking enthusiasm, and walking away to the kitchen. Lindsay followed her.

"Okay, I'll land the ship," Donald said, still uncomfortable with the situation, "Chip, Dale, you'll repair the ship."

"Roger!" both chipmunks agreed.

"Hey, Donald," Goofy said, while looking to the space map, "This world is Halloween Town. So that means..."

"Halloween costumes," Harold completed, he got a load of the world by the window of the ship and he was thrilled.

"Oh, boy," Donald said, changing his mood, with a bright smile, "With my magic we can get some neat costumes!"

At the kitchen, Heather put the Keyblade on the table and got a chocolate bar from the shelf. Lindsay also entered in the kitchen and asked, "Heather, it was me who pressed the button, why aren't you angry with me?"

"Of course I'm angry," she replied, sitting on a chair and chewing the bar, without looking to Lindsay, "But who cares? You're an idiot, almost killed us and now let me finish my chocolate alone, will ya?"

"Um," the blonde girl was a bit confused, "Okay..." then she thought, "I don't understand, normally she would yell aloud with me..."

"Control yourself Heather," the silver-wigged thought, while finishing the bar, "I don't want Lindsay hating me again so soon, she's stupid beyond the impossible, so try to not stay next to her."

**Halloween Town**

"This sure is a spooky place," Goofy remarked, covering his mouth to damp the noise of his teeth chattering. The group was walking through a way, with a gate in the end. He was wearing a Frankenstein-like costume, his hat was a big screw, and his eyes had two different colors. "I'll bet the people here are scary-lookin' too."

"Don't worry. We look spooky, too," Donald replied. He was wearing a mummy costume, covered in bandages, even with invisible paint around his belly. "If they scare us, we'll scare them right back!"

"You think so?"

"Lindsay surely is not scary, her costume is Heartless free lunch," Heather scoffed. She was wearing a vampire costume, a red medium dress, with red bat wings coming out from the back of the dress, black dettached sleeves, but showing a bit of cleavage, and had black leather boots and fake fangs. "But at least is not as weird as Harold, what a novelty..."

"Be gorgeous is better than be scary," Lindsay replied. She was wearing a fairy costume, very akin to those fairy tales fairies, a long, shinning blue and white dress, and with a tiara replacing her bandana. Yeah, she really was a fish out of the water.

"For your information, this is a rare costume," Harold said. He was wearing what looked like a giant slug costume, his glasses were deep red and he was wearing gloves with claws. "It's the Mongolian Death Worm! The terror of the North Asian territories," he made a scary grimace to emphasize, "Nobody ever captured one, and those who were lucky enough to survive an encounter with the beast will always carry the scars," then he made a boastful pose, "The description is very accurate with what I learned at Crypto Steve's Cryptozoology Camp."

"So, scary,..." Heather said, faking fear, "See if I care. Let's enter now," she said, going to the gate, but she noticed Lindsay looking at her. "What is it, now?" she said, crossing her arms and tapping the floor, impatient.

"There's something missing," Lindsay said, tapping her chin, "I know," she said, lifting her finger and picked something at one of her pockets. It was a ladybug-shaped hair slide. "Here," she said as she placed it at her wig, "Now it's complete."

"Whatever..." the silver-wigged vampire shrugged and passed through the gate.

"Well, I can say I have an eye for this," the blonde fairy smiled in a devoid manner.

They entered at the square. There was a sign written 'Gullotine Square', since there was a huge gullotine at the square. Many buildings of eerie appearance were seen, pumpkin shaped statues were beside them. A fountain was in the middle of the square, spotting out a green liquid that supposedly was water. Some residents were walking to the fountain, they were witches, mummies, werewolves, every type of monsters, they were scary but not harmful, some of them friendly greeted the new visitors. Everything in that world was different, but that was something our groups was starting to get used, but that wasn't the only thing different in that world.

"Eeeew," Lindsay moaned, shuddering, "So many rats! If they were hamsters, it might be okay, but.."

"I had to agree with the dumb blonde," Heather commented, "This world seems very dirty. It may not be good for my skin."

"Heather," Donald said, clearing his throat, "Look at there," he pointed to Search Ghosts Heartless, surrounding the square.

"Strange," Harold said, poking one, "They don't seem to react."

"Yeah," Heather agreed.

"Look, something's happening," Goofy said, looking at the fountain.

A monster, wearing a tuxedo and a very tall top-hat, who had two faces, one in the front and another in the back of his head, and a badge written 'Mayor' was calling the attention of everyone, talking in a megaphone, "And now, allow me to introduce the master of terror, the king of nightmares" he lifted his arm, "Jack Skellington!"

A group of Search Ghosts opened way, lifting their arms to the well, where a tall and thin figure emerged from the well. He was a skeleton, with no eyes, and was wearing a black tie with white strips and had a frightening grin. The entire crowd cheered for him.

"Bravo, Jack! Bravo!" the Mayor said, "Those ghosts will be a big hit at this year's Halloween!"

"Thank you, thank you!" he said, returning the compliments, "But their movement still needs work. It's not scary enough. I want to strike bone-chilling terror. I'm going to consult the doctor," and he walked away to a house over a hill, with a sign written 'Dr. Finkelstein's Lab'.

"Then I'll go attend to the decorations," the mayor said, "Everyone, go back to work!" and, in few minutes, the square was empty. Only our heroes and the immobile Heartless remained there.

"They seem to be nice people," Lindsay commented.

"Weird, no doubts," Heather added.

"Anyway, I think that guy, Jack Skellington, knows something about the Heartless," Harold pondered, "I think we should follow him."

"But we've gotta do something with all those Heartless," Goofy said, staring at the emotionless enemy.

"I don't think these things will go anywhere," Heather said, looking to the laboratory, "Let's go there."

They walked to the laboratory, climbed up the stairs and entered at the house. There, they saw Jack talking with a man in a wheelchair, wearing a lab coat, dark glasses and had very teeth in his mouth. They concluded he was the Dr. Finkelstein from the sign. They saw a big table, where a Search Ghost was lying down.

"I don't understand" said Jack while looking in a big book, bigger than him, "Maybe the guidance system was damaged in the explosion."

"Nonsense," the doctor said, rising his voice, "My devices are always perfect!"

"Oh, I've got it!" Jack replied, like there was a bulb over his head, after reading a paragraph, "Why of course! The Heartless need a heart! Doctor, do you think we can add a heart to that device?"

"Certainly," Dr. Finkelstein agreed, looking at Jack, "A heart's not all that complicated. Let's get to work."

"To make a heart, first take a container with a lock..." he said, grabbing a container shaped like a heart, with a great lock in the middle.

"We need the key of this thing first," the doctor remarked.

"Key..." Heather mused, summoning the Keyblade, "The Keyblade can unlock any lock, isn't it?"

"You're really gonna unlock it for them?" Donald asked, worried.

"Why not? If they succeed, we won't have to fight the Heartless, right?" Heather smirked, "Besides, I want to see the Heartless dance, too, after all, they can even obey us now. Don't you think this's great?

"Not really," Donald replied, more worried yet.

"I have a bad feeling about this," Harold said, concerned with the situation (actually he was imitating Obi-Wan; nobody paid attention).

"Hey," Heather said, and the two... two... denizens of the city looked at them, "I can help you." She pointed the Keyblade to the lock, but nothing happened.

"My!" Jack said, amused with her Keyblade, thinking that she did something, "That was amazing! Uh, and you are..."

"Heather," she said, flipping the Keyblade in the air and resting over her shoulder.

"Well done, Heather! I'd like you to be part of this year's Halloween."

Heather just raised an eyebrow and changed the topic, pointing to the Heartless on the table, "What's this Heartless doing here?"

"Oh, the Heartless came to town just recently," he said, in a cheerful manner, "What's frustrating is I can't get them to dance with me. So the doctor and I are trying to improve the guidance system. He's quite a genius!" he turned to the doctor, "Okay, Doctor, let's continue. The ingredients for a heart: Pulse," he put a frog on the table, "Emotion," a spider, "Terror," a glass "Fear. Hope and despair," he put an ouroboros, two snakes biting the tail of each other, forming a circle, "Mix them all together, and we have a heart!"

The doctor moved his wheelchair to a lever on the wall. He pulled it, it produced some noises and a electric current passed through the table. The Heartless seemed to get up, like the Frankenstein monster, but fell on the table.

"It failed!" the doctor cried, and Jack slammed both hands at the table in frustration.

"Maybe we're missing some ingredients. Let's try adding memory," he said, opening the lid of his head and started to scratch his brain. It's obvious that Heather and her allies looked very disgusted. "Sally!" he cried, "Sally!" he kept crying louder, then he started to mumble with himself, "Good-for-nothing girl! Don't know why I bothered creating her!" he finally closed the lid of his head, much to their relief, "Sally's got the memory we need. See if you can track her down."

"No problem," the skeleton nodded, "Heather and friends, would you like to come along?"

"Whatever..." she replied, nonchalant.

"Sounds good," Harold said, looking interested.

Outside the laboratory, they saw the mayor running into their direction, "Jack! Jack!" he said, panting a bit, his face was different, had an aprehensive look, instead of the happy look, which was in the back of the head, "We have a major crisis! The Heartless are completely out of control! We can't stop them!"

"Hmm... Maybe our experiment triggered something," he said, and tried to calm him down "Everything will be fine, Mayor. You have nothing to worry about."

"Congratulations," Heather scoffed, rolling her eyes.

"If I remember well, you had this idea," Harold replied, crossing his arms.

"Yeah, it was you," Lindsay agreed, tightening her eyebrows.

"What? Can't I try to save some time for me?" the silver-wigged vampire replied, throwing her arms to the air, "And Lindsay, stay here and see if you can find a new brain for you."

"That's a good idea, I love shopping!" she said, amused with the idea, then she stopped to wonder, "Wait, I've never seen a brain shop before."

The group proceed to Gullotine Square. The Mayor hastily issued an order to all inhabitants to stay at their homes, while the Heartless were roaming by the square.

"There they are," Donald observed, holding his staff tightly.

"Please, let me give you a show," Jack said, stepping forward. The Search Ghosts charged at them and tried to claw Jack, but he dodge nonchalantly, a dancing dodge. When he stopped to dance, he said, "Take that! Icy Terror!" and icy crystal shards came out from his hand, hitting the enemies. Then, he leaned his head forward and said, "Ghostly Scream!" The enemies were hit by a massive black orb, and then, to finish, he lifted his arms to the air and moved them down, saying "Bolts of Sorrow!" And the enemy was defeated by thunders coming out from the sky.

"Very good, a-hyuck," Goofy cheered. More Shadows and Search Ghosts advanced at their position. Using his tall and thin legs, Jack simply stomped at the Shadows. They fought against two waves of Heartless, until secure the square.

"Well, I think they're gone," Harold said.

"Jack," Donald asked, "Where do you think Sally is?"

"She must be at the graveyard," the skeleton replied, "Follow me."

They did as said. The graveyard was full of Heartless too, including a new one, Wight Knights, that looked like mummies, but taller and thinner, like Jack.

"Let's check this place, once the Heartless here are out of our way," Heather commented, readying the Keyblade. She ran against a Knight and tried to stab it, but it jumped and clawed the vampire girl at her shoulder. Refusing to give up, she blocked the incoming hits and attacked with a combo. Another Knight tried to attack jumping at her back, but she noticed, because she still had the ability of sense incoming enemies gained at Atlantica, and used Strike Raid, launching the Keyblade against the enemy. A Search Ghost approached by the side, but Goofy rammed his shield against it. Some Shadows popped up from the floor and Harold used his dancing nunchakus technique to dispose of them. Jack used his "Applause" attacking with his hands and finished other Search Ghosts, receiving Donald's help with Thundara.

"They're gone," Harold said, still swinging his nunchakus.

"Excellent," Jack said and whistled. A ghost emerged from a grave. He was a dog-shaped blanket, with a red glowing nose and came to the skeleton, "Zero! Have you seen Sally anywhere?"

The ghost dog pointed to another grave at the left, but what they were looking for was in the other side. A living ragdoll, with long red hair appeared at there.

"Is something wrong, Jack?" Sally asked, in a shy tone.

"No, everything's going great. We're going to have the best Halloween ever. All we need now is your memory," the skeleton replied.

"Memory?" she said, putting her forefinger to the mouth, "Sorry, but I don't have any memory."

"How, but the doctor said..."

"He may be mistaken," she interrupted, looking around. "Ah, this must be the Keyblade wielder," she said, grinning. Heather just raised an eyebrow.

"Huh, Keyblade wielder?" Jack wondered, scratching his skull, confused, "I remember reading something about a key, but that was a drama." At that moment, Zero came back from the other side, barking and growling at Sally, "Calm down, Zero. Sally is a friend. Friend," but this didn't help, the ghost dog was still barking at her. When everyone turned to see Jack trying to calm down his pet, Sally sneaked behind Heather and pulled a dagger, making an evil grin. When she tried to plunge the dagger at her back, Heather noticed and moved out at the right moment.

"What are you doing, you freak?" Heather snapped, holding the Keyblade. Sally tried to stab her again, but she blocked with the Keyblade. She kicked the vampire's belly and sent her to the ground.

"Sally, what's happening?" Jack cried, still confused with her behavior. Everyone was staring at them, worried. "You're acting like someone else."

"Maybe because I AM someone else," she yelled, with a menacing look. She wasn't Sally after all; she transformed into the dark blue-skinned mutant Mystique.

"She must be Mystique," the slug boy said, swinging his nunchakus, "Be careful, Professor Xavier warned us about her."

"What you did with Sally?" Jack angrily asked.

"Your friend was my first victim, now I'm going to eliminate the Keyblade wielder," she said, putting herself in an offensive stance.

Everyone came to help Heather, they couldn't allow the mutant coming closer to her. Donald and Goofy charged at her, but she jumped over them and kicked both of them in their heads. Jack used his personal Fire magic, the Blazing Fury, but she dodged and kicked his shin. The impact was so strong that made him kneel to the ground, rubbing his shin. As for Harold, she merely punched him at his guts. All of them were hit by the mutant, but none was defeated, the rapid hits unleashed by her were mere distraction. Before they could reorganize themselves, she grabbed Heather by the neck and punched her in the face. Then she held her against the wall and, with an evil smirk, pointing the dagger to her neck, she said, "The one destined to fight against the darkness is now at my hands," but before she could cut her throat, Zero bit her arm, but she shoved him away, "Now where were we?" Heather gasped for air, looking very afraid. However that wasn't her end.

"Stop!" she heard someone saying this. Mystique stood there, immobile, with her menacing yellow eyes looking at her, but the vampire girl was still breathing, then she glanced at her left. There was someone wearing a long cape, covering her entire body, but her hands. She had a big scythe and holding a hourglass around her waist. The figure looked like the grim reaper in person and hacked at the mutant. Nothing happened, but, after five seconds, Mystique was launched away against a gravestone, releasing Heather, who kneeled to ground, gasping for air.

"Who are you?" the mutant said as she got up.

"I'm death, destroyer of the worlds," the figure replied, with a feminine familiar voice.

"Oh, it's just Gwenny..." Heather said, showing no signal of gratitude.

She took off her hood and revealed she was indeed Gwen, "Shut up, Heather! I'm saving your flabby butt!" she said, not even looking at the vampire girl. Mystique jumped through the walls of the graveyard and, before she could kick Gwen at her face, the goth girl tapped her hourglass and said, "Stop!" A few inches before Mystique could hit her, she was immobilized in the mid-air. Gwen took advantage of the opportunity to deliver three powerful slashes from her scythe. Again, after some seconds, the mutant felt the retarded impact and crashed against a wall. The others, even Heather, stared spechless at the scythe-wielding goth girl. Mystique first stared at her and quickly jumped at her to deliver a punch, but neither this worked. Gwen, again, tapped her hourglass, saying "Stop!" one more time, immobilizing her enemy. She again swinged her scythe against the mutant, and, one more time, Mystique crashed against the wall, seconds after receiving the hit.

"Grr... How..." Mystique moaned, panting and trembling.

"I know what you did with Sally," Gwen said, glaring a fierce look at the mutant, "Now, get the hell out of this world if you give some value to your life!"

"Grr... You'll hear about me!" and she flew away from them, jumping over the wall.

"Wow, Gwen," Jack said, thrilled, "You've showed up at the right moment. That was a really good intro."

"Yeah, thanks for helping us," Harold added, with a very thankful look, but still rubbing his belly. Donald and Goofy also agreed, but Heather just crossed her arms; she couldn't believe that she was saved by her greatest rival.

"You're welcome," Gwen smiled to them, "It seems you're fine."

"Why didn't you come earlier?" Heather asked, trying to look indignant, "I almost died there! Again..."

"And lose the opportunity to see you suffering?" Gwen replied, waving her hand dismissively, "No way! I did that for Sally. That woman ripped poor Sally apart, so I decided to take make things even."

"Now Gwen, where's Sally?" Jack asked, concerned, "I want to see if she's okay."

"Don't worry," Gwen said, "Last time I saw her she was reconstructing herself. She's at the other part of the graveyard."

While they went there, Harold tried to chat with Gwen, "So, Gwen, it's good to see that's you're okay," he said, looking at her scythe, "But how did you come to this world?"

"Well, I have to say my first encounter with Jack wasn't that pleasant..."

FLASHBACK

"So, you're going to proceed, dr. Finkelstein?" Gwen heard Jack talking with dr. Finkelstein. She was waking up and still was dizzy from the trip.

"Of course, Jack," the doctor replied, "She's an alien, we must examine her."

"Look, she's awakening!"

She yawned and asked, "Where am I?" but, when she looked at Jack's empty eyes, she freaked out.

"Wow, that's amazing," Jack commented.

"Wh-who are you?" she asked, still scared.

"I'm Jack Skellington, the Pumpkin King and he's dr. Finkelstein, and you are _in the town of Halloween_," he said, humming the last part. Then, he pointed to the doctor, who waved, friendly holding a scalpel. She looked at the scalpel and didn't like what could happen, "And what are you going to do with this?"

"Ah, since we don't know what are you, we must open your body to see what's inside of you and classify your type," Jack explained, in a cheerful tone.

"WHAT?" Gwen screamed, opening her eyes wide.

The doctor approached her and said, "Don't worry, it's for the science and it's perfectly secure."

"Yeah," Jack added, "You'll just feel tickles," then he tapped his chin, "Well, at least with me it's always funny, I laugh only by remembering," he finished with a chuckle.

"Now, please, stay quiet," the doctor advised, pointing the scalpel to her chest, "I need to perform the cut."

The only thing Gwen did after stare at the scalpel was close her eyes and yell with all her might.

"Wait," Sally intervened, coming at the right time, "I know what she is. She's a human."

"Are you sure, Sally?" Jack asked, "She's so pale..."

"That's what says in this book," and when they took a look at the book Sally was carrying, they concluded she was right and let Gwen go.

END FLASHBACK

"Well," Jack tried to explain himself, embarrassed, "I didn't know humans don't like being dissecated alive."

"I guess it's useless to stay mad with you," Gwen replied, nonchalantly.

"And, if I remember well, you didn't have this scythe," Harold pointed, looking to the weapon.

"Jack insisted to me to participate at the Halloween festival," Gwen explained, "So, he gave me this scythe and this hourglass. I'll be the majorette. After some training, you learn how to handle well," she finished, grinning.

"Great, weird goth girl number one wants to be popular," Heather scowled, with arms crossed, still refusing to believe.

Gwen frowned, "You think you're so special, just because you have this weird giant key..."

"I am special!" she replied, prancing

"Want to settle this now?" the goth replied, tapping the end of the handle of her scythe in the floor.

"Bring it on," Heather replied, summoning the Keyblade.

"Girls," Goofy said and received a harsh "What?" from both girls. They saw Sally, the real one.

"Sally," Jack leaned down to see his friend, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, thanks for the concern, Jack," she said, holding a needle, sewing herself up.

"The one who made this to you is gone already," Jack said, helping her to fix herself. Gwen explained she found Sally completly ripped apart and that her ragdoll friend said Mystique was looking for the Keyblade wielder. Sally had insisted she could restore herself alone and that Gwen should protect this Keyblade wielder at all costs.

"And then, I discover that the baldie witch is the Keyblade wielder," Gwen said, in a bleak manner, "I made a promise to Sally so I helped you. Don't get used!" she glared at Heather, who glared back saying, "Like I needed your help..." Gwen just scoffed.

"Wait, now I got it," Jack said, "You're the Heather, the Keyblade wielder!"

"Duh!" she replied, rolling her eyes.

"I've watched a couple of episodes of Total Drama Worlds," he explained, "I didn't watch all episodes because I was too busy planning the festival. I didn't know that was for real." He stopped to delve deep in his own thoughts, "This could be a great merchandising for this year's festival."

"Jack, I'm finished," Sally said, getting up.

"That's very good! Now, Sally to our festival be complete, we must regain control of the Heartless. We need your memory."

"Memory?" she rhetorically asked, "You mean this?" and she got a forget-me-not.

"That's right!" Jack replied, very happy.

Sally handed the plant to Jack, but not without preoccupation, "Jack, I have a bad feeling about this. Why don't you try something else? There's still time."

"Nothing could beat what I've got planned!" he replied, boasting, but with no trace of arrogance in his voice, he genuinely cared for the well-being of everyone, "Once we give the Heartless a heart, they'll dance just as I envision it," he said, lifting his arms, and turned to Sally, with true confidence, "Trust me. You're going to love it!" Jack had the brighest intention, but intentions aren't the only thing in game.

"Jack," she still didn't feel comfortable with the idea, "Why not have these kids star the festival instead? They both look rather frightful. And funny, too. They'd better than the Heartless."

"Oh, but they will," Jack gleefully replied, placing his hands over Heather and Gwen's shoulder, the two girls exchanged frowns and turned away, "The more the merrier!"

"So, let's return to the lab," Goofy suggested.

"I let my drawing stuff at the other side of the graveyard," Gwen said, pointing to another direction, "I'll catch you later." Heather preferred to don't comment, and everyone left the place.

After then, the silence was broken by childish laughs. A coffin opened and three kids came out.

"Lock!" a child dressed like a devil jumped first.

"Shock!" a child dressed like a witch came second.

"Barrel!" a child dressed like a skeleton got out last.

"Did your hear that?" Barrel asked.

"Yeah, I sure did!" Lock agreed, "A heart! What should we do?"

"Gosh, you really are stupid!" Shock replied, "Isn't it obvious?"

"Tell Oogie Boogie," Barrel concluded. And they laughed and entered again at the coffin, going to Oogie Manor.

While the kids were discussing, Heather and her allies returned to the lab.

"Here we are, dr. Finkelstein," Donald said, announcing their arrival.

"And we brought you the memory," Harold added.

"Yes. This is it," the doctor said, placing the plant on the table, "Now, just one more ingredient. We need 'surprise' to complete the heart. Gwen should know where it is."

"Great, now we have to go back," Heather complained, slapping her forehead.

But they weren't the only one with plans for the heart. In a room at the Oogie Manor, the three troublesome kids were shivering in fear, while their terrible master, Oogie Boogie, was laughing wickedly, "A heart? That bonehead Jack is really making a heart? I'll be jiggered! That works for me! Ohh, when I get my hands on that... Well, I've got no hands, but I'm still gonna nab that heart and control the Heartless."

After battling their way to the graveyard, they finally found Gwen. She was sitting on a tomb, drawing.

"Hello again, Gwen," Harold politely waved to her.

"So, you've returned..."

"That's obvious!" Heather cried, lifting her fists to the air.

"Tsk, tsk, Heather," Gwen shook her head, "Graveyards are silent places, you have to feel the silence, concentrate..."

"Bull," the vampire girl crossed her arms.

"Gwen," Goofy intervened, trying to change the topic, "Dr. Finkelstein said you have the surprise element."

"Yes, it's this," and she picked a jack-in-the-box next to her.

"Now give me!" Heather ordered, pointing to the item.

"Take it easy," she replied, smirking, "Why don't we play a game before?" she said, swinging her scythe in the air.

"Oh, I got it," Heather replied, lifting her arm to summon the Keyblade, "A duel," she also smirked, "Beat the crap out of you will be a major pleasure."

"Yeah, this is gonna be awesome," Jack said, thrilled, "I hope Chris's recording."

"Better take a seat," Harold observed. The four guys sat on the tombs, while Heather and Gwen were preparing to the battle.

"So, what's the power of the Keyblade?" the goth girl asked, in a taunting manner.

"I'll show you," the vampire girl replied. Then, the two girls charged at each one, screaming, lifting their weapons and blade clashed with blade.

* * *

**A.N.:** I had to use this cliffhanger. There's a poll at my profile about, who do you want to win? Heather or Gwen? Heather's design is based on Sora's halloween costume and a bit on Aqua's outfit. Gwen's design is based on the Death from the movie _The Seventh Seal_ (that'd be some movie Gwen would certainly watch). It sounds a bit cliché, Gwen at Halloween Town, but I had to include her as fighter, so I tried to do something different. Harold's design is exactly what he's trying to be: a Mongolian Death Worm, a cryptid (by the way, I don't watch _Secret Saturdays_)


	26. Fearful Funny Function, pt 2

**A.N.: **Last chapter of the arc, this had fewer chapter, although longer, I hope the readers like. Answering DorktorK (since he's posting as anonymous, or else I could have answered via PM): the Looney Tunes was a reference to their rivalry, nothing essential to the plot, although two of them will make a cameo in this chapter, and about Jack and Chris, so so.

* * *

The two girls clashed their blades, measuring their forces. Heather had a slight advantage, because the handle of Gwen's scythe was greater and relatively more unstable and she had a harder time countering Heather.

"Now, I'll show you," Heather taunted as she yanked the Keyblade against Gwen's scythe. When Gwen backed away, Heather swung the Keyblade, hitting the goth reaper with three straight hits. Then Heather pointed the Keyblade to Gwen to cast Blizzara at her, her wig started to change to a blue color. The goth reaper started to twirl her scythe over her head at a high speed and, when the vampire keybearer launched the icy projectiles, the fast movements of the scythe formed a defensive barrier that protected her, the Sharp Barrier. Heather just raised an eyebrow and pointed the Keyblade to the sky, casting Gravity at her rival, but the great dark orb was slashed by the defensive movement of the scythe. Gwen stopped to twirl and held normally her scythe, however she was a bit tired.

"Is that so?" Heather teased again.

"I'm just warming up," Gwen replied, charging at her. Heather again blocked the hit and shoved the scythe from her, taking advantage to hit Gwen at her shoulder and her chin. She counterattacked, hitting her rival's legs. Heather lost her balance for a while and Gwen swung her scythe against her. The vampire keybearer backed to the left, ducked and pointed the Keyblade against the goth reaper.

"Let's see if you like this!" Heather gritted her teeth and used Sonic Blade against Gwen. One hit, two hits, three hits, four hits, five hits, but, when Heather was about to hit her for the sixth time, Gwen managed to place the blade of her scythe in front of her, protecting her from receiving the hit. The impact was so great that made both girls fall backwards.

"Are you ready... to give up?" Heather taunted, using the Keyblade to help herself to get up and panting a bit.

"Not until you're... down!" Gwen replied, also using her scythe to help herself to get up, panting a bit too.

"Wow, they're great rivals," observed Jack.

"That sounds like an understatement," replied Harold.

The rivals ran against each other, screaming through the way, but, when Gwen was in the middle of the way, she slowed down and started to twirl her scythe over her head again. Heather hadn't time to stop and was hit by the scythe. She tried to fall back, but Gwen kept walking slowly toward her, to avoid her escape, although the goth reaper couldn't move quickly while using the Sharp Barrier and eventually Heather managed to escape. Her health was almost ending when she lifted the Keyblade and her wig turned to the green color. She cast Cure and healed herself a bit.

"Hey, that's a duel," Gwen protested, "It's against the rules, cheater!"

"Did you really think I'd care for something as stupid as rules?" Heather gratingly replied and launched the Keyblade against her, using Strike Raid. The spinning blade directly hit Gwen twice, like a boomerang, before returning to Heather. The goth reaper swayed back and forth due to both impacts and kneeled to the ground, panting heavily. Unlike Heather, she had no ways of healing herself.

"Who's going down now, Gwenny?" Heather said, and jumped to deliver Gwen a powerful stab, but this didn't go as planned. Gwen lifted her head and smirked. When Heather was about to hit her, she said, "Stop!" while tapping her hourglass. The vampire keybearer froze in the midair, with eyes narrowed, so there was nothing she could do. Gwen, still smirking, got up and attacked her with four powerful slashes that, after some seconds, sent her flying away against a gravestone. Gwen calmly walked to her and pointed her scythe to Heather's face.

"I won," Gwen said, in a provocative manner, "Say it!"

"Okay, you won," Heather replied, very angry and vexed, "Happy?"

"Much," she replied, taking her scythe away from Heather's face and resting it over her shoulder. In the end, the goth girl won, but both contenders were dirty, with bruises and cuts all over their bodies.

"That was a rough battle," Harold commented, approaching them, "Do you need help to get up?" and showing his hand to her.

"Scram!" she replied, shoving the slugboy's hand away. Harold only muttered a 'gosh', taken back.

"You know, it's a lot easier to defeat an enemy when it's stopped," Gwen said, in a mocking tone, "Especially when they make obvious mistakes. Take this as a consolation prize," and she threw to her a lucid gem.

"Don't even think I'll ever, EVER thank you," Heather shouted, still angry. She hadn't time to refuse her gift as the gem was quickly assimilated in her wig. Now Heather could use Stop magic.

"Heather sometimes you're so funny," the goth reaper replied back, grinning and walking away. Heather only grunted.

"Well, I think we should return to the lab," Goofy suggested, "Dr. Finkelstein's waiting for us, a-hyuck."

"That's right my doggy friend," Jack remarked, "Now, the Heartless festival will be a big shot and everyone will know!"

They returned by the usual way, no Heartless were seen. This time, Gwen joined the party. Heather was still very upset about losing the duel to Gwen. During all the way, she was with arms crossed and looking down, mumbling.

Arriving at the lab, Jack handed the item to the doctor. He seemed very interested and eager to continue the research, "Yes. This is it."

"Um, doctor," Harold said, "Did you see Lindsay?"

"That strange girl went out to buy a brain, she must be at the market," the doctor answered, "I'm glad she's not here now, her sparkling dress was starting to give me seizures. Though she wasn't dressed as a monster, that makes me think: what kind of lame idea is a sparkling monster?"

"So, Lindsay's with us, Harold?" Gwen asked.

"Yeah, when we go to Traverse Town, you'll meet more people."

"Did he just say Lindsay's buying a brain?" she asked again and Harold nodded. "Well, I think she needs anyway..." she shrugged.

At the market of Halloween Town, Lindsay was talking to a well-known merchant.

"For the last time, I don't want fishes," Lindsay insisted, "I want a brain. B-R-H-W-E-I-N"

"Okay, okay," the Magikarp salesman agreed, "If you desire a brain, you'll get it," he placed a brain in a jar on the table, "It's 90000 munny."

"Wow, it's expensive," Lindsay commented, but without much concern.

"They're very rare," he replied, looking nervously around, "Few people can afford a very rare brain like this, doesn't it?"

"Fine, I'll buy it, I'm used to buy expensive things anyway," she said, shrugging, "Do you accept credit card?"

"Of course," the Magikarp salesman smirked.

The doctor was ready to restart the procedure, grabbing the heart, "There you go. This time it's sure to work." But, while he was guiding his wheelchair, Barrel jumped in, making him fall to the ground and dropping the heart. Lock quickly picked up and the kids got away.

"The nerve of the hooligans, stealing my work!" the doctor yelled, as Jack helped him to sit on his wheelchair, "Don't let them escape."

"Aw, phooey," Donald moaned, and the group ran trying to catch the kids. Going to the Guillotine Square, they saw the kids were in nowhere.

"Grr... We lost them!" Heather complained, clenching her fists.

"Now what are we going to do?" Harold rhetorically asked.

Jack looked around and tapped his thighbone. Zero promptly appeared, "Zero, after them, quick!" his pet barked and flew to the graveyard, "Let's follow Zero!"

The group went to the graveyard, from where they could see Moonlight Hill. The top of the hill was uncurling to allow the passage of the kids in their... walking bathtub?

"Is that a walking bathtub?" Harold asked, barely believing in his eyes.

"You're blind?" Heather asked, slapping the back of his head.

"Jack, do you know where they're going?" Donald asked.

"Hmm, I don't like how things are going..." he said, tapping his chin.

The group proceed to the Moonlight Hill. When they arrived there, Jack said, "When I press this button, we can pass by the hill." The hill uncurled and they went to a new area. There was a bridge over a streamlet and a gate in the other side.

"I'm sure they passed by here," Donald said as he saw an empty package of snacks on the ground.

Gwen looked around and asked, "Jack, do you remember of those gargoyles over the tombstones?" pointing to the immobile purple 'statues'. There were a lot of them by the area.

"No," he replied, "Strange..."

"They aren't statues, weird goth girl," Heather said, readying the Keyblade, and shouted, "Come on!" And then, the Gargoyles Heartless flapped their wings and took off from their resting places. They were in greater numbers, almost covering the moon in the sky and they executed a synched attack, diving in high speed to attack the group. Gwen used Sharp Barrier and blew away any gargoyle that tried to dive-bomb her. Jack and Harold used their dancing techniques to avoid the gargoyles. Donald hid behind Goofy, who used his shield to block the attacks, and cast Thundara to attack the enemies. Only Heather tried to attack straightly the diving enemies. Surprisingly she was having success, she took some hits, but managed to repel almost the enemies that went against her, one per time, unlike Gwen, who could repel many enemies at the same time.

"You just kill one Heartless per hit," Gwen disdained her rival, after the first wave of attacks stopped, "This is so ineffective!"

"I don't need your blabbering," Heather growled.

The second wave of diving attacks started. Their numbers were diminished, but they still were a formidable force. Half of the force stood flying in the air and the other half dived against them. Those were in high altitude launched blue fireballs against them. The projectiles poured down over them and, with the combined diving strike, they had a bad situation this time.

"They'll try again," Jack observed, "Ghostly Scream!" he attacked with Gravity before the enemies could charge a second volley of fireballs. The attack made those who were in high altitude fall down, where our heroes had a better chance against them; Harold used his dancing nunchakus and Goofy used his ramming attack, while Jack used Applause and Donald used Thundara. The other group of gargoyles dived at that time, but Gwen used again Sharp Barrier against them, while Heather fought them with sheer willpower, in other words, sheer rashness.

"You didn't learn anything, did you?" said Gwen, while twirling her scythe.

"Shut up!" replied Heather, while hitting a gargoyle and finishing it with a two blows. After some time, the number of enemies was reduced by the joint efforts of everyone.

"That was the last one," Harold observed, after defeating the enemy with his nunchakus, "Everyone is alright?"

"Yeah, a-hyuck."

"Seems so," Jack said.

"Feeling tired, Heather?" Gwen taunted the vampire girl.

"No way!" she screamed back. The truth was that Heather was more tired than Gwen, but she wouldn't accept this in her front and she discreetly used a potion on herself, while her rival wasn't looking.

They proceed to the place where the kids went. It was the Oogie Manor a big building, growing out from a tree. It had some rooms on the branches and a cage that seemed to be used as an elevator. But the tallest room was the one which was calling the attention of everyone.

"I knew Oogie Boogie was behind this!" Jack observed, looking to the elevator, they could see a white bathtub inside. The kids were heading to the tallest room, with the heart.

"So what are we waiting for?" Heather said, putting her hands on her hips, "They're just stupid kids."

"Be careful, I've already saw them pulling their pranks," Gwen observed, "They're tricky..." Heather only grunted again.

They climbed their way to the top, fighting against Shadows, Search Ghosts, Wight Knights and Gargoyles. They had to be careful, one wrong movement and a painful fall was waiting for them. When they reached the entrance of the tallest room, where they were expecting find the kids, a few more Heartless appeared. Two Wight Knights, four Search Ghosts and two Gargoyles.

"Why didn't they just give up?" Heather complained as she swung the Keyblade against a Gargoyle that tried to advance against her. Jack fought against the Wight Knights, they were a reasonable adversary for him, because they also used dancing attacks, Harold charged at the Search Ghosts and Gwen helped him. Donald kept his distance and used Fira e Blizzara against all enemies, while Goofy tried to attack the Gargoyles, but he was having some difficult, because his weapon had little coverage and he couldn't attack very well the flying enemies. Gwen was so concentrated on her target that she didn't notice a Search Ghost materializing behind her. The enemy clawed her and made her lose her balance and she was next to loose tile. When she stepped on the tile, it broke and she tripped, dropping her scythe to the fall, and she'd have fallen if someone didn't reach her hand.

"What an interesting twist, Gwenny..." Heather grabbed her hand and was holding her from falling, "I can't say I'm not tempted to let you fall down, but I won't do that," and she pulled her up with all her strength. Donald had already finished the enemy who made this to Gwen when she was safe.

"I guess we're even now," Gwen said, relieved and, unlike Heather, showing gratitude, "At least you have some sense of decency to recognize this."

"I think you lost your weapon," the vampire keybearer replied, crossing her arms.

"You think so?" the goth reaper moved her hand like she was tapping the handle of her scythe on the ground. A purple energy formed over her hand and the scythe materialized in her hand, in almost the same way Heather was used to summon the Keyblade, "Do you think you're the only one with this trick?" Heather just raised an eyebrow, she was somewhat impressed.

After a few minutes all enemies were defeated.

"Now, let's teach those brats a lesson," Harold said, confident. When they entered at the Evil Playroom, the kids turned to look at them.

"Give us the heart, you terrors!" Donald cried.

"Too late," Shock replied, making a mocking face, "We already gave the heart to Oogie Boogie"

"You can't do anything," Lock laughed along with his friends.

"Grr... Get them now!" Heather ordered, readying the Keyblade.

"Um, Heather," Goofy interrupted, "They're just kids."

"So they need a good spanking!" Heather charged at them, but they jumped on her back when she tried to attack. Lock shot a pebble from his slingshot directly at Gwen's forehead, who only rubbed the spot; Shock spun and avoided Goofy; Barrel rammed against Donald and knocked out the duck; Jack tried to get Shock, but she was jumping wildly and he couldn't reach her. Harold, on the other hand, was swinging his num-yos at a certain distance from the kids. He was concentrated but observing every movement, and how they failed to stop the kids. When the kids approached each other, the slugboy launched the num-yos against them. They tried to run, but the yo-yo weapon tied them and their laughs became moans.

"Aw, that's not fair," the three kids groaned at the same time.

"Good job, Harold," Jack greeted, impressed, "How thoughtful!"

"Now the little fiends will tell everything!" Heather snapped, putting her hands on her hips, and thought, "Hmpf, they remind Damien..."

"We were just following orders!" explained Shock, "Oogie Boogie told us to steal the heart. It's all Barrel's fault!" she said, jerking at Barrel, "It was his idea to tell Oogie Boogie about the heart."

"Yeah, that's right!" Lock nodded, also yanking at him.

"B-But you guys said..." Barrel tried to justify himself.

"You should be ashamed!" Shock interrupted.

"Kids..." Heather rolled her eyes. Jack decided to untie them if they promised to tell them where Ooogie Boogie was. They said their boss was at the Torture Chamber, at the base of the Oogie Manor. Jack let them go and they jumped in the walking bath tub, which was the best way to come down to the lower part and go to the entrance of the Torture Chamber.

"Oogie Boogie is beyond this door," Gwen observed, staring at the green door, and then glanced at Heather, smirking, "Scared? Or you're too pampered to go forth?"

"Hmpf, I've seen scarier things at Wawanakwa, like Chef's food," and with a grin, she finished, "And your fashion sense." Gwen just stuck out her tongue.

When they entered, in the middle of the room was a giant roulette, with many colors. Oogie Boogie was standing still at the highest platform.

"Oogie Boogie, give me back the heart!" Jack shouted, pointing to him.

"You want it?" the walking bug sack taunted, showing the heart, "Well, then come on over and get it!" He swallowed the heart, much to the surprise of our heroes, and Heather. "Now, let's see if I can get their attention," Oogie Boogie lifted his hands, or hands-like appendixes, and waved them, "Oh, Heartless!" He was expecting a massive, stupendous Heartless army, mindlessly following his orders, to destroy his enemies, humiliate his arch-rival and crown him as the supreme ruler of the world. But, instead of, only two Gargoyles attended his call. "This is it?" He asked, without any chance of receiving an answer. Heather's group gazed at him, unimpressed.

"I guess you didn't make it," Harold said, sarcastically.

Oogie Boogie snarled and clenched his... whatever and shouted angrily, "Nobody disrespects me! Nobody!"

A blast closed the door and the group fell on the roulette, which started to spin. While the roulette was spinning, Oogie threw explosive dices on them, saying, "Nice view from up here." They were easier to dodge if the roulette wasn't moving.

"Not in the roulette, IT BURNS!" Harold yelled, after being hit by an explosive dice. His pants caught fire and he ran over the roulette, accidentally defeating the Gargoyles with the nunchakus, but in the end he slammed against a wall.

"Hope you like the Oogie gifts I picked out for you!" Oogie cried and launched two black dices. They rolled up a bit and stopped at three. "Buzzsaw!" When he said, a flying circular saw span onto them. Who didn't jump at the right time was hit by the sharp round weapon. When the saw stopped, pointed fences started to rise and so the platform where Heather and Donald.

"I'll enjoy this," the villain said, trying to pound her. She rapidly dodged and started to stab him. She tried to cast Blizzara at him, but this had no effect.

"You fool! Your magic can't hit me!" and he tried to pound her again, but missed again.

"Likewise," she replied sardonically, while attacking him a bit more.

"Better try another tactic," and Donald started to bonk him with the staff, which dealt little damage.

Oogie Boogie fumed up and leapt irritated, "You won't make a joke out of me!" The movement created a blast that sent Heather to the roulette, and Oogie started to throw his explosive dices again. Donald and Jack were hit this time, but without major problems.

"Let's crank things up!" When Oogie threw his black dices again, blades came from the roof and started to spin against them. The circular movement hit everyone and, after it ended, a couple of Search Ghosts showed up to make things harder. Anyway, Jack and Goofy used their skills to defeat them, but the gates started to emerge again, now was their time to face Oogie.

"I'll squash you flat!" the boogey man cried, pounding Goofy, but he protected himself with his shield. Oogie only groaned.

"Hello, Oogie!" Jack said, facing him in the eyes, or whatever they use to see, and he started to use Applause at him, while Goofy helped with Tornado. Oogie was badly hit, and, when he got a chance, he leapt and blasted them back to the roulette.

"That's right, away you go!" and Oogie threw again the black dices, "Off with you!" The same blades came down, but, this time, they were moving upside and down. Heather dodgerolled and avoided them, and so Jack and Donald, but Gwen and Harold didn't have the same luck, being hit by the blades. The platform they were started to rise and Oogie rammed against them. Gwen and Harold avoided his attack and proceed to fight back. Gwen used Sharp Barrier and Harold helped with his nunchakus attacks. Oogie, when he managed to get a chance, again blasted them to the roulette.

"Now, time for a..." Oogie said, when a strange machine came above his head, "Healing machine!" a black smoke came out from the machine, healing him. Gwen noticed that and hurled her scythe against the tube of the machine. The sharp blade cut off the tube and fell over his head, covering his eyes. When he took off the tube, and yelling "YOU HORRIBLE, CHEATING GIRL!" he didn't notice that a string from his cloth stuck in a cleft over the piece of tube. The tube rolled next to Jack, who noticed it.

"So long, Jack!" Oogie laughed, before pulling a lever.

"How dare you treat my friends so shamefully!" the skeleton replied, showing the tube with Oogie's string stuck. The walking bug sack gasped when Jack put the string at the wheel of the roulette, which pulled the entire Oogie's cloth.

"Now look what you've done," Oogie Boogie was now a agglomerate of bugs, which was falling apart. With squeaky voice, he trailed off, "My bugs! My bugs! My bugs..."

"Sounds like Oogie Boogie won't bother us anymore, a-hyuck," Goofy commented as the bugs dispersed to everywhere.

"But the heart is nowhere to be seen," Gwen objected.

"No," Jack said, a little disappointed, "That heart was a failure at all."

"Great, another pointless quest," Heather complained.

"Look at that paper," Donald said, calling attention to a piece of paper that was sedately falling to them. Heather grabbed it and, after taking a look, she was surprised, "Guys, this is one of the Magneto's Report."

"Interesting," Harold observed, "Better we take it to Professor Xavier, he'd like to take a look."

And so, they left the Torture Chamber. No Heartless was seen during their way back.

"I just wonder," Jack commented, almost leaving the area, "What will I say to dr. Finkelstein? When I tell him we lost his heart, he'll be mad!"

"Well, at least Oogie Boogie can't bother us anymore," Harold replied. But that wasn't quite the truth. They heard a big sound, and felt a tremor. When they looked behind, they saw a big cloud of dark dust surrounding the manor and, when the dust dissipated, they saw the horror: Oogie Boogie merged with his manor and became a giant monster. He lightened up the elevator and dark protuberances were everywhere around him, pulsing malignantly.

"Whoa! How did he get so big?" Gwen cried.

"This can't be happening again," Heather said, also worried.

"That's what I call a heartless indigestion," Goofy said.

"Look!" Jack pointed to the protuberances, "It's brimming with the power of darkness! Oogie Boogie is drawing power from those dark globs!"

"So we just have to destroy those things, right?" the vampire keybearer replied, summoning the Keyblade.

"We can't waste any time, hurry!" Jack said, running with the group against the globs. They splitted up in two groups, Heather, Harold and Gwen would attack by the left and Jack, Donald and Goofy by the right.

"You can give up now," Heather taunted her rival, grinning.

"I can't let you get all the fun," Gwen replied, smirking.

"Ladies, let's destroy those thing together!" Harold intervened. Oogie used the elevator to launch fireballs against them and ordered Gargoyles to attack them, but, even so, they destroyed every single protuberance, but, in spite of his powerful appearance, there wasn't much things he could do, Heather's team managed to destroy every single glob, while avoiding his attacks. When Heather delivered the last strike on the last glob, the giant Oogie started to collapse and disappeared in a dust made of darkness. After it faded, there was nothing left there, only a giant keyhole in the floor. Heather pointed the Keyblade to the sky and it emitted a beam that splitted in many ones, sealing the keyhole of the world and from the Heartless. Mission accomplished for them.

"Well, that was easy," Heather said, flipping the Keyblade in the air and resting over her shoulder.

"Aren't you forgetting something, _Heather_?" Gwen reminded her, putting her hands on her hips.

"Yeah, right, you weren't so useless this time," the others just rolled their eyes or shook their heads.

"CONGRATULATIONS!" a deep voice thundered all over the area, when the Nakombi landed. Now it had the shape of pumpkin.

"Here we go again..." Heather rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. Chris MacLean came out from the ship, dressed like Dracula.

"Gwen it's a pleasure to meet you," Chris greeted the goth reaper, with his trademark plastic smile.

"The feeling is not mutual," Gwen replied, emotionless.

The host cleared his throat and started his speech, "Heather, for defeating Oogie Boogie and sealing another world, you gain two prizes: the Holy Circlet, an accessory that increases your magic defenses and your ability, and this gem," he handed her a dark-purple octagonal gem, "This will upgrade your Gravity to Gravira."

"Is that so?" the goth reaper said, impatient.

"Okay! I'll be waiting for you at TOTAL... DRAMA... WORLDS!" and the ship took off.

"Wait," Jack cried, "I forgot to ask if you're recording the festival!"

"He's not here anymore," Goofy observed.

"Oh, we could talk about business and..."

Before the skeleton king could finish his phrase, the ship returned and Chris walked off from it and asked him, eagerly, "Excuse me, did you say business?" Jack explained his idea and they decided to make a deal to broadcast the next Halloween Town's Halloween Festival through Chris' channel.

After this, returning to the doctor's lab, Jack is apologizing with Sally, "Sally, why didn't I listen to you?" He could be eccentric and a little stubborn sometimes, but he clearly wasn't arrogant.

"Don't feel bad, Jack. We'll come up with another plan for Halloween," Sally kindly replied, holding both hands together with Jack, "Next time, we'll do it together."

"Next time, Sally," then Jack announced, "I guess we have no choice. We'll have to cancel the Heartless Halloween festival for now," then he picked something in the pocket of his suit and handed to Heather, "Here, I want you to have this." It was another keychain for her collection, the Pumpkinhead.

"Visit us any time, Heather. Next year's Halloween will be the scariest ever!"

"Well, I think it's time to go," Harold pointed.

"That means..." Gwen's voice trailed off when she realized that was also her time to go. She sighed, but smiled afterwards, "I won't be majorette. Thank you for the hospitality, but I think it's better I go with them."

"Serious, Gwen?" Jack replied, a bit disappointed, but he accepted well, "Please, make sure to see us if at TV."

"No problem, just do me a favor and listen Sally more, she's the only one with enough common sense to rule this town." Luckily the Mayor wasn't there.

"Great, now weird goth girl number one is now a member of our group," Heather scorned.

"You're not the best company in the world too," Gwen frowned, then she turned to Donald, "Shall we go then?"

"No, we must wait for Lindsay," Donald explained.

"I'm here," Lindsay said upon opening the door, "And I brought the brain," indeed she was holding a brain in a jar. "Hi, Greta!" she waved happily with a free hand, and Gwen just rolled her eyes.

"Lindsay, what's that?" Heather angrily asked.

"Um, you told me to buy a brain and I bought," she explained.

"And how much did it cost?"

"90000 munny."

"ARE YOU CRAZY?" Heather hollered at her, totally forgetting of her promise to herself.

"We don't have all this munny," Goofy observed, "How did you buy it?"

"Well, uhm, I used my credit card," she excused, looking nervous.

"Credit card? But, since the credit card was from our world..."

At the base of the Space Mafia, a disguised asteroid, the Magikarp salesman was reporting to his boss, Rocky, a short gangster with a big hat covering his eyes.

"Boss, I've bagged lots of money from a stupid girl," the salesman cheered.

"How much?" his boss asked, taking a drag on his cigarette.

"90000 munny!"

"Excellent!"

"You may even check."

He took his PDA to check his account, but he saw no signal of 90000 munny and asked, upset, "Are you kidding me?"

"Never, boss, I booked everything."

"You idiot! You let her use a credit card! Her credit card is from Red Leaf Country, and was destroyed some time ago!" the tiny boss yelled and, when the salesman heard that, his jaw dropped and he turned white.

"Now, you've committed an error and I must punish you! Mugsy!" A big and muscular thug showed up, laughing evilly and cracking his knuckles.

"What he's gonna do?" the salesman asked, almost wetting his pants, while Mugsy's shadow covered him.

"Oh, that I can't tell you, because our readers would have nightmares," he replied nonchalantly and taking another drag on his cigarette, "And that's not the objective of the story."

"... it can't buy anything ," Harold reasoned, "Our world was destroyed along with all the money on the banks."

"So I did a mistake, right?" the blonde fairy asked, downhearted.

"Actually no," the slugboy said, "That guy probably must be a scalper, so you taught him a lesson."

"Oooh, thank you," she replied, happy again.

"I'd want to see his face now," Gwen commented, laughing.

"I can't believe she really did something right, doing it wrong," Heather flouted, but surprised.

After the last farewells, the group departed from Halloween Town with their new member, scythe-wielding goth girl Gwen. When they took off, dr. Finkelstein sighed.

"Are you okay, doctor?" Jack asked.

"We must think on the events of today," the doctor replied, "Emotion, memory... We put in all the necessary ingredients. What else do you need to make a heart? What is a heart anyway? I can't figure it out," and they returned to the town.


	27. Dreams of Piracy, pt 1

**A.N.: **Hi, everyone. This time took a long time to update, because I was busy with the last part of college, my main internet service was officially killed off, so now I'm using only the mobile service and LAN-houses, and I was kinda stuck in my other fic, (time for advertisements) _Prairie Boy? Whose Prairie Boy?_ but now I'll update and, finally, to add insult to injury, Brazil was eliminated from the World Cup. This world is different from the original, loosely based on _Rayman 2: The Great Escape_, one of the best games of the beginning of the century, so your commentary is important.

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_Last time on TOTAL! DRAMA! WORLDS! After a running like mangled dogs from a Heartless flotilla, our heroes arrived at the spooky world Halloween Town, with cool costumes, where they accidentally triggered a Heartless raid all over the town. Then, with the help of Jack Skellington, the Pumpkin King, and our favorite goth girl, Gwen, they had to clean up the mess while trying to figure out how to regain the supposed control over the Heartless. Oogie__ Boogie, with his minions, Lock, Shock and Barrel, managed to steal the heart Dr. Finkelstein was researching and, after the sack of bus ate it, they fought a tricky battle with him. When they thought everything was fine, a giant Oogie Boogie emerged from the ground, fused with his manor and started to attack our heroes. But, the last battle was surprisingly easy, they just had to blow up weird blobs and avoid enemy Heartless and fireballs, and they won. Now, they're heading to the next destination! What await them? Will ever Gwen and Heather cooperate? And Will Lindsay find any usefulness to the brain she bought? Find more at TOTAL! DRAMA! WORLDS!_

"Oh, when they'll stop?" Donald moaned, dispiritedly piloting the royal gummi ship through the space. Gwen and Heather were in the third argument of the day. Lindsay was staring at the beautiful space surrounding them by the window, so amazed with the view that she didn't bother with the discussion and Harold was playing chess with Goofy.

"This is my chocolate bar!" Heather shouted, angry, "I was saving for later."

"I don't see your name in here," Gwen replied, unworried.

"Just because you just arrived, you can't act like everything in this ship is yours!" Heather cried, indignant.

"Hey, could you two make some silence?" Harold asked, but was promptly ignored

"Nya, nya, nya," Gwen mocked, taking a bite of the chocolate, "This ship is not yours too, so isn't this chocolate."

"Ugh! I'm the Keyblade wielder, I have privileges!" Heather crossed her arms, fuming.

"Say that to my scythe!" Gwen replied, confident.

"With pleasure!" Heather responded, lifting his arm to summon the Keyblade.

"You two, stop now!" Donald cried, going after them, after switching to the automatic pilot, "I don't want fights here!"

"It was her fault!" Heather said, pointing to Gwen.

"Oooh, very mature," the goth girl disdained. The queen bee just growled and glared at her.

While Donald was scolding them, or trying to, something was starting to blink at the radar in the panel.

"Well, I'm going to get a cup of water," Goofy said.

"Please, get one for me," Harold asked.

"No prob," but, when Goofy was going to the kitchen, he heard the blink in the radar and gasped upon seeing the size of the point and rushed to warn Donald.

"Uhm, Donald..."

"We are fighting against a common enemy! You must cooperate!" the two girls didn't seem to be paying attention.

"Donald..."

"Not now, Goofy, I'm trying to say those two palookas to stop fight!"

"But, Donald..."

"Is it important, Goofy?"

"Uhm, well, a big ship is catching up to us."

"A what?"

"Hey, look," Lindsay said, gleefully pointing to the ship, "It's another ship. Hi!" she waved her hand to them.

"Quit gawking! That's a pirate ship!" It was an enormous flying pirate ship. At the sail, there was the symbol of a mechanic pirate head, with two spanners behind. "It's coming at our direction!"

"It's going to ram us!" Heather exclaimed. Everybody screamed and tried to hold on something as the enemy ship charged at full speed at them, making the ship to black out.

**Glade of Dreams**

When Heather woke up, she was in the deck of the ship. It was a very glum and colorless place, gray barrels over all the area, poles fixed with sticking plasters and empty cages. Over the sky was an eerie dark blue night. Heather got up and took a look. The ship was floating over a green plain and Heather backed away.

"I didn't think you'd come, _Heather_," a familiar voice called her from behind.

Heather gasped, "LeShawna," and frowned, complaining, "What are you doing here? What's the big idea with this ship?"

"Won't you say you're glad seein' me again?" she asked, with her hands placed on her hips.

"Well, I can't say no..." then she changed the topic, "Where are the others? Donald, Goofy, Harold and, ugh, Gwen and Lindsay?"

"Now are you worryin' about them?" LeShawna raised an eyebrow.

"No, it's just because I need them!" Heather replied, raising her voice.

"Sighs... As usual... Look, Heather, I could stay all over the day discussin' with you, but I have to take care of people that really needs."

"What are you saying?"

"See by yourself," LeShawna answered, walking around, revealing an awful sight.

"Izzy?" even Heather couldn't hide her shock, "W-what happened to her?"

That was really an awful sight; Izzy always have been a girl full of energy, she didn't bother to wake up at 4 a.m., always running and leaping around, ready to tell stories of dubious origins, but always willing to entertain her guests, with a beautiful smile, and, to see her in such a bad shape, sitting on the floor, barely equilibrating herself, with a dry tongue stuck out and a lifeless stare was hurtful even for someone that usually didn't care with others, like Heather.

"I found her, but she'd already lost her heart," LeShawna explained, and then she clenched her right fist, looking down with a determined expression in her face, "I promised to mahself' I won't rest until I find a cure for her and to anyone who needs."

Heather had seen LeShawna determined before, but not as she was seeing her now. She tried to walk to her, to see Izzy more closely, when a big robot blocked her way. He was like a pirate. His boss was also there, the short, but rough, Admiral Razorbeard.

"Not so fast," he said, in a menacing tone, "No shenanigans aboard my vessel, slags." And soon, Pirate Heartless also arrived to circle her, pointing their swords, in a mute menace.

Now, Heather was surprised, "LeShawna, why the hell are you siding with the Heartless?"

"The Heartless obey me now, Heather," LeShawna replied, surefooted, "Now I have nothin' to fear."

Heather growled and threw her arms to the air, "You're stupid. Sooner or later they'll swallow your heart. And I simply won't care."

"And when did you care with somebody else than you?" LeShawna snapped, very angry, that wasn't the best choice of words made by Heather, "I can't understand why they didn't swallow yours, because you're so selfish and weak-heartened!"

"Ha! You think you're better than me! Ha-ha-ha!"

"If I can't be better than you, I can't help anyone," LeShawna coldly replied, and Heather just gritted her teeth, "I've picked up a few other tricks as well. Like this, for instance." The sassy girl lifted her hand and then Heather's shadow started to move and emerge from the floor. The shadow was mute, eyeless, but she could see her 'laughing' at her. Heather was awestruck, saying, "What the heck?"

"You can go now," said LeShawna, and a trap door opened under the queen bee and she fell, screaming. "Let's get under way, already. And keep Heather away from Izzy until we're ready to land," she ordered the robotic space pirates and left them.

"That scurvy chit thinks she can order me around!" Razorbeard groaned.

"What shall we do, Admiral Razorbeard?" a robotic pirate asked.

"Nothing!" the admiral snapped, "The area is crawling with Heartless. Let them keep an eye on those slags."

"But, Admiral, you-know-who is also down..."

"I don't care," the superior pirate interrupted him, "That weird thing is now my servant, there's nothing he can do. And we're already late with the schedule, the heart of this stupid world should've been blown up right now! Stupid old witch, why do we have to follow her orders?"

Suddenly, a hatch opened in a robotic pirate, revealing a TV screen that was turned on spontaneously, "I heard that, _Admiral_!" the said stupid old witch warned the leader of the pirates and turned off. The pirate just growled.

Inside the ship, Heather landed hard, but on a soft spot, "Ouch! Grr... Why did she do that?" She landed in a big prison cell, the exit was protected by laser bars.

"Hey, Heather you okay?" Goofy asked.

"Yeah, courtesy by LeShawna."

"Wait, did you say LeShawna's here?" Harold asked, hopefully.

"Yeah, and she's allying with the Heartless, up to no good," Heather answered, nonchalantly.

"What? This can't be," Harold said, shaking his head and then pointing his finger to her, "I don't believe you!"

"Believe whatever you want!" Heather scoffed, "Like the time she kidnap Pinocchio." Harold just grunted. "I also saw Izzy."

"Really?" the geek said.

"Yeah, she was sick," Heather shuddered just by remembering.

"Who's she?" Goofy asked.

"A crazy girl," Heather stated flatly, "But she was very different."

"All right!" Goofy said, plainly, "Then let's go up and talk to her."

"Sounds great," Donald's voice was heard, "Okay, but first...how about getting off!" Heather had landed on Donald and he wasn't very happy about this, drumming his fingers on the floor.

"If I refuse?" Heather sarcastically said, crossing her arms and turning her nose up.

"C'mon, Heather!" Harold replied, impatient. Heather got up and looked at the switch in the wall in front of them, and tapped her chin.

"Ahem! How ya doin' there?" at that moment, a voice asked them, "Looking for a way out?" When they turned, they saw a weird figure, he had blonde hair and a big nose, a purple trunk with a circular white symbol, a red scarf over his non-existent neck, white gloves, yellow boots, but no arms or legs, and he still could control the gloves and boots.

"Who are you?" Goofy asked.

"I'm the answer to your prayers," he answered back. They didn't seem impressed.

"So, how exactly are you gonna help us?" Heather asked, very skeptical.

"Okay, then. Fine," the figure shrugged, "Have it your way."

"But you're stuck in here too, aren't you?" Harold reasoned.

"No, I'm on a mission," he replied, "And just waiting for someone."

"Mission?" Donald asked, confused.

"The robo-pirates are here to destroy my world and capture and enslave my people, and I'm here to prevent this," the figure stated.

"I see, we can help you," Goofy said, willing to help.

"But..." Heather tried to say something about how they didn't have time to help him and had to concentrate on their mission, but Harold interrupted her, "Just leave to us."

"Hmm," the figure tapped his chin, smirking at them, "I don't know, it's too dangerous."

"What?" Heather said, feeling challenged, "I've defeated things that could eat you at their breakfast."

"Ooooh, I'm so impressed," the figure interposed, sarcastically.

"I'm gonna show you, let's get out from here!"

"Well, I said I'm waiting for someone," the figure intervened.

"So, where is him?" the Keyblade wielder asked, in a rough tone.

In that hour, a robo-pirate tossed a giant blue frog in the cell that fell on the weird figure. When he got up, he saw his friend and cried, "Rayman!"

"Globox, it's good you're safe!" the figure exclaimed, happy, "Did you see where Ly and the others are?"

"I've got the map of the ship," and he opened his mouth, picking a map from his stomach, "And Ly sent you this," and he picked a silver colored flying thing called Lumz. The tiny glowing creature flew over him and he was powered up.

"Now, can we go?" Heather asked impatiently tapping her foot on the floor, with arms crossed.

"By the way, what's your name?" Harold asked.

"I'm Rayman, and this is Globox."

"Hi," the blue frog waved.

"I'm Harold, nice to meet you," he said, shaking hands with Rayman. He was feeling weird, shaking hands with someone without arms, "He's Donald, Goofy and Heather." The two first waved to them, while Heather also waved, but without looking at them, swaggering. "Also, with us, there's two girls, Gwen and Lindsay," the geek completed.

"I've seen just one girl with Ly, maybe she's one of them," Globox added.

"Where could be them?" Goofy wondered.

"Well, that's something we've gotta to find out," Rayman replied and charged an energy sphere on his hand and launched it. The sphere passed by the gap between the laser bars, hitting the switch, which turned off the bars and now they could get away from the cell.

Elsewhere, at the other side of the prison area, far from where they were, Lindsay and Gwen were in another cell. Gwen was leaning against a wall, with arms crossed, in a thoughtful instance and Lindsay was sitting on the floor, moaning.

"What will happen to us, Greta?" she said, almost sobbing, "I have never been arrested before."

"Well, perhaps we have to wait miss better-than-thou come here to save the day," Gwen replied ironically, although Lindsay didn't understand that was an irony.

"Yeah, like she did in Atlantica," Lindsay said, innocently.

"Has Heather been manipulating you again, Lindsay?" Gwen glanced at her, not believing in her words.

"No, I learned my lesson," Lindsay replied, "But I didn't tell you what Heather did in Atlantica yet." Then Lindsay told Gwen everything what happened at the underwater world, even if she confounded some details, she told everything, how she was deceived by Ursula and how they defeated her.

"Do you mean Heather has changed?" Gwen asked, surprised.

"No, she's still the same," Lindsay explained, "But since she got that giant key, she's been helping everyone, even if she didn't like it."

"I understand, she can't get rid of her fate," Gwen mused, "And, although I don't like to admit, she was rather useful at Halloween Town."

"I was so happy that Heather helped to save the world that I hugged her," Lindsay said, remembering of the scene, "I never expected to do this some day."

"So, you're stupid enough to be her friend again, right?" Gwen replied, rolling her eyes, not impressed with Lindsay's attitude.

"No, it's just I don't like to have enemies, to be in bad terms with people," Lindsay responded, looking down sadly, "Heather wasn't the first one that took advantage of me, and then came Ursula..." Gwen stopped to think a bit. Since the first day she saw Lindsay, she didn't like her. She thought she was just a rich, stupid daddy's girl (and she wasn't so wrong), but now the goth girl was feeling guilty for having misjudged her, thinking, "People always judge me just because of my looks, why am I doing the same thing with her?" She understood that Lindsay wasn't a superficial person, she just wanted to make friends.

"You know, Lindsay," Gwen replied, smiling at her, "We don't need Heather to get away from this cell."

"Huh?"

"Just look," she said. At that point, three robot-pirate guards were passing by.

"See, that weird pale girl had this stick with her," the first one said, showing the scythe, "But now it's mine, hahaha!"

"Yeah, how she was idiot," the second agreed, "She didn't even know what happened."

"Hey, piece of junk," Gwen shouted, still grinning, with an unworried expression, "That scythe is mine, did you know?"

"So, come get!" the first laughed.

"No problem," the scythe disappeared from the guard's hand and reappeared at Gwen's hand.

"Hahaha, you can have the big pointed stick, but you can't get out," the third scorned.

So, Gwen started to twirl her scythe over her head, and the guards were mocking her, but they stopped to mock when Gwen hit the switch at the left of the cell. The blade of her scythe passed between the gap of two laser bars, hitting directly the switch, and the deadly trap was turned off. The guards became worried, while Gwen's smirk grew even more yet. The first tried to charge at her, but was struck by Gwen's powerful strikes and fell to the floor. The last two tried to attack at the same time, but she used her hourglass to stop them and deliver a series of rapid blows. In less than a minute, they were reduced to a pile of scrapped metal.

"Wow, Gina, you defeated them!" Lindsay cheered.

"Don't worry, stick together with me, and we'll get out from this ship," Gwen said, resting her scythe over her shoulder.

"Thank you," and she glomped her.

"Okay, don't push it!" the goth girl replied, a bit annoyed.

When Lindsay let her go, she chuckled, covering her mouth with her hand.

"What's so funny?" Gwen asked.

"You're like Heather sometimes," Lindsay answered, merrily.

"Not a chance!" she replied, tightening her eyebrows.


	28. Dreams of Piracy, pt 2

**A.N.:** Here's chapter number 28, this is short because of some schedule constraint issue.

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After knocking out the wardens, Heather and her group moved away; they ran by a very long and ill-illuminated aisle, Harold commented, "Hey guys, remember that Shadow Heartless usually appears everywhere."

Without warning, something kicked Heather's butt. She moaned and slapped Harold's head.

"Gosh!" he replied, indignant, rubbing the back of his head, "What was that for?"

"You think you can kick me," and then she felt again a kick in her butt, "Ouch," and she glared at Rayman, who was now behind her.

"Heather, calm down, we can't see very well," Donald reasoned.

"I know," she cried, "I'd have felt something, if they were here," and again her butt was kicked. She didn't know what to do and summoned the Keyblade. The most curious thing about the situation was that only Heather was being attacked by the 'butt-kicker' entity. "Now they're here," Heather shouted, after being kicked again. Shadow Heartless emerged from the floor and everyone readied their weapons; Rayman started to shoot energy spheres, Harold swung his nunchakus, Donald waved his staff and Goofy used his shield, even Globox tried to help, summoning little rainstorms over the enemies, but with little effect. The enemies kept them busy for a while and Heather, after missing an attack, accidentally hit her own shadow.

"What?" she said when she noticed the moving shadow, "So that's..." she stared for a while, confused, but growled and gritted her teeth when the shadow disappeared again, "I need to have a serious talk with LeShawna!" After some time, they defeated all enemies, without great consequences to them.

"So, you can't trust your own shadow, right?" Harold remarked, deadpan.

"Shut it, Harold!" Heather replied, annoyed, "Let's get out of this aisle!"

"We're almost at the hangar," Globox said. They turned to the left to the door of the hangar. The hangar had only the royal gummi ship, which was being suspended by a crane. Some pirates were guarding the ship, and they were below the ship.

"Now, what are we going to do?" Heather asked, impatiently tapping the floor with hands on her hips.

"Hmm, I've got it!" Rayman said, "Globox, launch me against that fan."

"Okay," and the blue frog grabbed his limbless friend and tossed him against a fan. Rayman started to spin his hair and, helped by the air current coming out from the fan, he started to fly right to the crane. The others, even Heather, gazed amazed at him. He quickly knocked out the operator of the crane and took over the control. He simply pressed a button labeled 'Release' and it, indeed, released the gummi ship, straight on the pirates. Now that they were reduced to flattened pieces of metal, the area was safe and Donald went there to check his ship.

"See, with me there's no problem," Rayman said, using his helicopter-hair to make a soft landing next where they were.

"So, uhm," Goofy tried to talk, dumbfounded, "How come you can fly?"

"Anyone can fly, if the Lumz give you the power," Rayman explained, "You wanna try?"

"Uhm, Rayman, Ly just gave me one Lumz," Globox said.

"Oh, well, I guess you have to wait."

"Yeah, that really can wait," Heather said, unworried, "But, now we have our ship, we can say bye-bye to you and get out from this weird ship."

"But, Heather we promised we would help'em," Harold intervened. Rayman just frowned and Globox dropped his jaw.

"You said _you_ would help, I didn't say anything!"

"No! LeShawna's here, you saw her!" Harold cried, "I don't wanna leave without seeing her!"

"I guess we have to wait," Donald stepped in, "Chip and Dale said they have to repair the ship, this'll take a while." Heather just growled and crossed her arms.

Meanwhile, in the main cabin of the ship, Admiral Razorbeard was discussing with LeShawna, who had just entered in the cabin.

"Harold is with them," LeShawna said and sighed, "Are you sure he's alright? Why can't you release them?"

"We have to keep them in the prison for a while, until we decide what to do," Razorbeard grumpily replied, "And I ordered to my henchmen to not enforce painful activities them."

"I still don't trust you," LeShawa replied, not even looking to him.

"Oh, you little... Whatever!" Razorbeard cried, and mumbled, "Why did I have to follow that old witch's orders?" LeShawna didn't hear this and when she asked about what he had just said, he changed the topic, "So, what did Maleficent tell you?"

"She said the fairy isn't a Princess of the Heart," LeShawna answered.

"What?" he said, indignant, "So Ly's not one of the chosen ones?"

"There are eight, supposedly, and Maleficent says she's not one of them," LeShawna replied, without caring with him.

"After the trouble of capturing her?" the robo-pirate hollered, angry "And why those eight? What is Maleficent planning, anyway?"

"Who knows? As long as it means getting Izzy's heart back, I couldn't care less," LeShawna replied, coldly.

"Hmph. You're wasting your time! The Heartless have devoured that girl's heart."

"I will find it no matter what."

"That old witch," Razorbeard grunted, "She just muddled my plans of destroying and enslaving this pathetic world. Why did I join forces with her in first place?"

"What did yo' say?" LeShawna asked, barely believing what she had just heard. At that moment, the alarm sounded and one robo-pirate talked by the audio, "Admiral, the prisoners have escaped. What's more, Rayman is with them."

"Blast that thing! All right, then!" the admiral ordered, "We need to change to plan B, prepare the Grolgoth! And you..." the admiral turned to give orders to LeShawna, but she was seen in nowhere, "Where did that girl go?"

The alarm was also heard in the hangar. Immediately, Pirate Heartless emerged from the ground, wielding curved and sharp swords.

"Everything was fine until now, what would've happened?" Heather cried as she got the Keyblade.

Elsewhere, Gwen was facepalming while Lindsay was trying to justify herself, "I just thought that machine could give us some information." In the screen of the machine there was a message saying 'Unknown User, Alert!'.

"No time for this," Gwen said, grabbing Lindsay's arm, "Hurry!"

Back to the hangar, Heather and her allies had to fight the Heartless. Heather attacked one, but it blocked her hit and tried to counterattack, but she avoided the hit and she used Strike Raid, throwing the Keyblade spinning in high speed, defeating the enemy. Goofy protected himself and attacked with his shield attacks, while Donald used magic attacks, like Thundara and Blizzara. Harold used his dancing nunchakus technique and avoided many hits while attacking them. Rayman used his flying ability and launched energy spheres from above and Globox summoned rainstorms over them.

"There's too many of them," Globox said.

"I have to agree," Heather agreed, "Let's move out!" After holding them for some time, they ran to another area, and, after passing by various aisles, they entered in another room; this time, the room was filled with cages of various sizes and forms. Those cages were part of Razorbeard's plan for that world.

"How!" Rayman shouted, angry, "Those pirates!"

"Gawrsh! They're serious about enslave your world," Goofy commented.

"We won't allow this," Donald said.

"Do as you want," Heather crossed her arms, "I don't care."

"Heather," Harold nudged her.

"What?"

"What kind of person is she?" the limbless wonder wondered, unhappy with her attitude, but then he stood immobile for some seconds and called the attention, "I heard something." They went to a farther part of the room, where there was a screen, in which was written 'Cages in use' and a line separating two cages from the rest.

"Rayman," a feminine voice called from a shadowy cell, "You are here."

"Ly!" he said, "Wait, I'll open it."

"Somebody can help me here too, eh?" another voice called from the other cage.

"Heather, use the Keyblade," Donald requested. She just pouted and mumbled under her breath but pointed the Keyblade to the cages and a thin beam opened them. From the first, came out a humanoid wingless fairy, her body was orange with what looked like purple tattoos all over her body, and she also had brown eyes, green lips and a long purple hair. From the second cage, came out the homeschooled camper Ezekiel, falling with his face on the floor.

"Hey, homeschooled," Harold said, helping him to get up, "How did you get here?"

"Eh, I just woke up in the deck of this ship and, when the pirates saw me, they said they'd make a slave of me and so I'm here," he said, dusting off himself, "And you, eh?"

"Long story..."

"It's good to see you again, Rayman," the fairy said, floating in the mid-air, putting herself in a meditative lotus position, "I see you brought the one who holds the key."

"Bah, why everyone who thinks it's a wise talk with me like this?" Heather moaned.

"We have to do something about those pirates," Rayman said, "Tell me, Ly, what can we do?"

"Me too, Ly," Globox said.

"The pirates are a threat and must be stopped," she said, closing her eyes, "But I can sense a bigger threat coming."

"What?" Rayman and Globox gasped, while the others didn't understand.

"Darkness," she said, nonchalantly. "Razorbeard has aligned with the darkness and so his superiors, but the truth is that they do not know what they are doing. Darkness conceals everything..."

"She must be talking about Maleficent," Goofy whispered to Donald, who nodded in agreement.

"Did I mention how much I hate riddles?" Heather complained.

"But that wasn't even a riddle, gosh!" Harold complained back.

"But, why did they capture only you in first place?" Rayman asked again.

"They thought I was piece of a greater plan, but they were mistaken," Ly said, "There is another girl in this ship, and she is part of their greater plan."

"Does she's talking about Izzy?" Heather thought, surprised.

"Now, you must go," then she directed to Heather, "Keyblade wielder, you carry a burden which is both light and heavy, please defeat the pirates and find the keyhole of this world," she used her hands to create a silver Lumz that flew to the silver-wigged girl; Heather didn't know what to do, she simply stood still while the Lumz powered her, "This will help you, if you believe. I will be watching over all of you," then she disappeared, teleporting to a place outside the ship.

"Can someone explain what in the world is happening in this asylum?" Heather cried, opening her arms wide, but she was ignored.

"To defeat the pirates, we must kick Razorbeard's butt," Rayman said, looking at the map, "He must be here," he pointed to the main cabin.

"We have to figure out how we're going to get there," Globox said.

"Yeah, but this ship is too big," Rayman agreed, "If we find a faster transportation, we can find our way through the ship. Let's go here," he pointed to a room labeled, 'Armory Room', "I'm sure we can find something."

"Hey, homeschooled," Harold said, "Did you see LeShawna or Izzy here?

"By the way, my name is Ezekiel, don't forget anymore," the prairie boy replied, in a mix of annoyance and impatience, caused by the bad alimentation, "And who is LeShawna? But I know who Izzy is, and I didn't see her."

"Gosh!" Harold said aloud and a bit outraged, "What do you mean you don't know LeShawna? She's like the purest perfection in perfect purity!"

"I can't remember from everyone," Ezekiel tried to warrant himself, "I've been locked in this cage for days, alone, eating stale bread and drinking mossy water," he scratch his toque, "Only yesterday I got company."

"But LeShawna is my LeShawna, my chocolate goddess..." and Harold clasped both hands in the air, going to cloud nine.

"So, I guess you can't help us," Donald commented, and Ezekiel shook his head.

"I just want a decent meal, eh."

"Well, I know a way to return to the ship without calling the attention of the guards," Globox said, "I can take him back."

"Would ya?" Goofy asked.

"Sure," Globox said, grabbing on the homeschooled's shoulder, "Let's go buddy." And they both left the room.

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go!" Rayman said, pumping his fist on the air.

"Did you hear anything?" Heather uttered, slapping Harold's head. He just moaned the sore spot, moaning 'gosh'.

They took an elevator and reached the upper floor and, after battling their way through the aisles and rooms, they reached the armory room, where there were some enemies, some Pirate Heartless and a new type, Air Pirate Heartless. Heather used Gravira to weaken the enemies, but two Air Pirates escaped and attacked them. They were quick, and could fly at a good speed. One of them circled Heather and gave her a sucker punch. She tried to counterattack with a hasty strike, but her shadow taunted her to a new fight. Rayman jumped to a tall pile of boxes and activated his helicopter-hair and proceed to chase them over the room, launching energy spheres at them; after some he shot them down. Goofy and Harold attacked the regular Pirates and Donald secured the panel. After many wrong hits and many kicks in the butt, Heather, using rapid blows, hit her shadow and made it disappear. The area was safe, now.

This allowed Harold to examine the panel, "Here, the fastest transport in this ship is the flying bullet," and when he pressed a button, a flying bullet came to them, it was a yellow bullet-shaped flying thing, I mean, a like a flying motorcycle, with legs.

"Good job, Harold, we need more four," Rayman said.

"Do you mean we have to fly on these... things?" Heather asked, not amused with the idea.

"It's just like riding a horse," Rayman explained.

Meanwhile, when they were contending to go to the room, Gwen was with Lindsay. Since Lindsay didn't have any way to help, Gwen had to protect her with her scythe. Many Pirate Heartless and robo-pirates came against her, but Gwen fended off most attacks for a long time, before her forces started to become depleted.

"Ugh," Gwen panted, kneeling to the ground, but holding tightly her scythe, while Lindsay gasped; they were surrounded by robo-pirates, with Razorbeard leading them.

"Give it up!" Razorbeard hollered, "There's no way you can defeat us!"

"I just need to defeat you," and with some of her last strength, she leapt, brandishing her scythe against the leader, but a robo-pirate came first and punched her in the gut. She was tossed out, falling in a pit.

"Gwen!" Lindsay cried, she managed to get her name right, but this didn't help anything. Two pirates grabbed her by the arms, and Razorbeard ordered, "Take her to the crow's nest, along with the two prisoners so we can lure Rayman and his mates."

When she was falling, Gwen quickly regained her conscience and notice that if she didn't find a way to stop, she would become less than pancake. "I hope this work," Gwen thought and hit the wall with her scythe, using all her remaining forces. The scythe pierced through the wall, emitting a creak, and creating sparks due the contact. The scythe made the goth girl slow down, creating a massive gap in the wall, but managed to save Gwen. She sighed in relief, but seeing nobody, she only screamed, hanging on to her weapon, "Now what do I do?"


	29. Dreams of Piracy, pt 3

**A.N.:** Last chapter of the arc, this also means there's three and a half worlds to go, great, isnt't it?

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Heather and her allies got on the flying bullets and flew their way through the ship, avoiding crashing into columns, fences and all kinds of traps the robo-pirates could have put on their way. Heather was holding one hand, embracing her flying bullet and another on her wig, screaming since the bullet started took off, "AAHHH! I think I'm gonna throw up!"

"Heather, it's not as hard as it looks," said Harold, he was steering the bullet without problems, "Rayman's right, it's just like ride a horse, like when I learned at Medieval Steve's Medieval Camp." This didn't help to make Heather stop crying.

"Gawrsh! It's pretty fast," Goofy commented, as he circled a column.

"Wak! Be careful!" Donald cried, as he passed under a laser fence.

"Guys, we have company," Rayman warned, looking to the forward. There were Battleship Heartless, in a blockade formation. They aimed at our heroes (and Heather) and fired dark shells from their cannons.

"Incoming!" Rayman shouted.

"One hit and we're done!" Harold gulped, "Quick, evasive maneuvers!" The bullets split up and avoided the first salvo. After that, every Battleship tried to fire at a single target but the bullets were too small and fast for the big and slow Heartless and then they decided to ram against them, using spears placed in their prows. The bullets simply lured the enemy ships, making them crash into columns and walls and soon they were defeated. After a curve, they heard a voice.

"Hey, over here," Gwen's voice was heard over the way.

"There's another girl, hanging on there," Rayman said, looking to her.

They approached more and Harold said, "Gwen, you can jump, we'll catch you."

"Or perhaps we could forget her and move forward," Heather suggested, but, when Gwen jumped, she fell right on Heather's flying bullet, behind her, making the bullet jolt. "AAAHHH! Look at what you're doing!" she screamed, not looking to her; she was still holding on tightly to her bullet, "There's five of them, why did you fall here?"

"AAHHH! You're not the best partner too!" Gwen also screamed nervously, "Do you know how to drive this thing?"

"This is not your business!" Heather replied, avoiding a column.

"Stop whining and pay attention!" the goth girl ordered.

"Get off," the silver-wigged girl replied harshly, "Go with one of those dumbheads!"

"We can't stop, Einstein!"

"So, why don't you merely fall into the pit?"

"It almost happened to me, but the pirates got Lindsay!"

"So, the world's now a smarter place!"

"Heather!" Gwen screamed indignant, "Look out!" and they avoided another laser fence.

"When will this stop? I don't wanna die!" Heather cried, closing her eyes.

"Me neither! AAHHH!" Gwen also cried and they both clutched each other, screaming loudly. The bullet slowed down, moved its legs to land smoothly. They were still crying loud when Goofy intervened, "Girls, you can stop now, a-hyuck." When they noticed that they had landed, they exchanged frowns and tried to push each other from the bullet and they both fell to the ground, groaning.

"Well, we must be close," Donald said.

"Yeah, let's go through that stair," Rayman agreed, climbing up the ladder. And so, they arrived at the main cabin. It was rather well-kept cabin, with some furniture, a big chair next to the window, nothing unusual, with one exception: LeShawna was holding Izzy's body.

"L-LeShawna?" Heather asked confused.

"LeShawna! Love of my life! Wait!" Harold cried concerned, stretching his hand.

"Huh?" Gwen exclaimed, also confused, scratching her head.

The big sister didn't reply. She looked at them with a hardly interpretable look, perhaps could be expressing guilty, anger, disposition, grief. She turned her head and created a dark portal, where she went away, and carrying Izzy's body. The others couldn't say anything, also because a shadow was crawling on the floor and, when it emerged, it was another of Heather's shadows. Heather readied the Keyblade and so her allies their weapons, but this shadow was different; it lifted its arm and summoned a Keyblade, also a shadow of the Keyblade Heather was holding, but, unlike Heather's, that one didn't have a keychain, and, when it pointed the Keyblade to them, the shadow opened its eyes; a sinister and frightful yellow glow came out from the place where the eyeballs supposedly stayed and that made even Heather became uneasy. The shadow was AntiHeather, an almost perfect copy of the Keyblade wielder made of her shadow, darkness in her heart and, perhaps, something more.

"Gosh! This isn't a common enemy," Harold exclaimed, nervously swinging his nunchakus.

"Gawrsh! I agree," Goofy said, hiding himself behind his shield.

The AntiHeather charged at Heather, but she dodged; instead of hitting the silver-wigged girl, it hit the goth girl. Gwen was easily knocked out, since she had forgotten to heal herself after the fight with the robo-pirates. Although Heather didn't like Gwen, she also had lost a powerful ally, when she thought, "That thing knocked the weird goth girl first, which isn't a bad thing, but that's something I'd do in first place..."

Then the AntiHeather sank into the floor before Goofy could hit it with his shield and re-emerged behind him, stabbing him with the shadow Keyblade. Donald tried to help him and cast Blizzara, but the shadow sank into the floor before the hit could connect and struck the geek instead. It re-emerged again behind the magician and struck with three powerful hits. Rayman shot energy spheres and some hit it before it sank again into the floor. The shadow reappeared, again behind Donald and attacked with everything it got. Heather and Harold ran to its direction and managed to score some hits before it sank again into the floor.

"Gasp... That was harsh," Donald moaned, but the shadow attacked him one more time, before retreating and this repeated two more times; the shadow didn't seem to bother about receiving some blows as long as Donald got injured.

"Why's it attacking Donald now?" Heather thought, stroking her chin. Donald, very injured and with his health almost in the end, lifted his staff to cast Cure, when Heather finally understood, "Quick! Protect him!" But it was too late; the AntiHeather emerged and attacked him by the diagonal, and the magician passed out.

"Grr... You idiots! Now we're going to get troubles if we can't heal ourselves!" Heather complained. "And don't even think I'll waste my magic on you!"

"But, Heather we're outnumbering that thing, what could go wrong?" Harold said, trying to assure himself, swinging his nunchakus.

"That thing is ME!" Heather snapped at him, "I can defeat you with my hands tied! I know I'm that strong."

"So full of yourself..." Rayman trailed off, charging a sphere.

"I don't know Rayman," Goofy commented, "If that thing was created with the darkness inside Heather's heart, which can be," he stopped to gulp, "Kinda' strong."

They kept their heads up, waiting for the shadow emerge again, covering all corners the shadow could emerge. Silence fell for some seconds before the shadow appeared. This time, the AntiHeather emerged, taking a reasonable distance from them. Heather charged at her dark clone and they exchanged blows, clashing blades with each other. Rayman backed her up, attacking with energy spheres from a longer range, while Goofy and Harold helped every time Heather fell back. Then, the shadow made an unexpected movement; it split in three different shadows, which were equally vicious.

"Gawrsh! That wasn't the real one," Goofy called out, after protecting himself with his shield from the relentless attacks and counterattacking, slamming his shield against the shadow. The enemy simply faded away.

"Gosh!" Harold said hitting one fake shadow that was attacking Rayman, who slammed into the ground. The real one was fighting with Heather. No matter what Heather did, the AntiHeather replied in the same way. Obviously, the shadow knew all her tricks, so Heather had to come up with something anew. She turned her back to the shadow and used Strike Raid and, when the Keyblade was returning, she didn't catch the weapon and let it hit the AntiHeather. This allowed Goofy and Harold attack the enemy, before it sank again into the floor. The enemy repeated the strategy for three more times, tiring them considerably.

"We need to finish this," Heather said, looking carefully to both sides, "I've got an idea: when the shadow split, we have to lure them were I'll launch a Blizzara attack."

"Do you really think this'll work, Heather?" Rayman asked, unsure.

"It has to!"

The AntiHeather emerged from the ground and splitted in three copies, charging at the remaining members of the gang. Rayman, Harold and Goofy tried to lure the three copies, while Heather was taking distance. Her wig turned to a deep blue shade and she cast Blizzara at them. The icy crystals hit two fake shadows and the real one, but it also hit her allies, and Rayman fell, exhausted, chattering his teeth due to the cold spell. Heather quickly slashed the AntiHeather three times and, at the fourth, she unleashed a diagonal strike, cutting off the shadow, which just faded away. The enemy was defeated and they could rest for a while.

"Heather, what was that?" Harold thought about saying this to her, after she defeated the enemy, she sat over her legs and remained silent, but he gave up, when he realized that didn't make a difference. At the moment, he only could think in LeShawna, "LeShawna, why are you doing this? Where are you?" He thought aloud, looking down, sadly, placing his hand over his chest, over his heart.

At the same time, Goofy looked at a shelf. It was there some bottles of elixir and, with Harold's help, they healed their teammates and themselves. And also there was another interesting thing: the Magneto's report n.º 9.

"Ow, what happened?" Gwen asked, standing up and clutching her head.

"You received a hard blow," Harold answered, "Why were you so weak?"

"I had a rough time with the pirates, in other area," Gwen replied, "I lost Lindsay there."

"We can find her," Goofy commented, optimist.

"Yeah, we can do it, if someone attack the right target," Rayman argued, incensed with Heather's plan, but she ignored. She was wondering in her mind, "That thing was me?" and she was interrupted when Donald tried to call her attention, poking her. Heather shoved away Donald's hand, getting up and saying, "Enough! Let's go!"

After clearing their way from the Heartless, passing by rooms and aisles repleted with Pirates, Air Pirates, and Battleship Heartless, the group reached a room with an elevator. There was a note fixed in the panel, 'Rayman and his filthy mates, I have captured Globox and two weird people, come to the crow's nest to find them! Admiral Razorbeard'.

"Why ain't I surprised?" Heather commented, in a rather disdainful tone, placing her hands on her hips. The others frowned at her, unpleased, "What? We have to go there, right?"

After taking the elevator, they arrived at the area, a plane and circular surface, with only a short tower, where Globox, Ezekiel and Lindsay were tied, hanging over a abysm. Razorbeard was waiting for them, with a giant yellow robot, which had a cannon in its both hands, and was shaped like a bullet, with legs and arms.

"So, you've arrived," the robo-pirate said, inside the robot named Grolgoth, pointing its arm, "I wonder how despicable varmints like you could go past my ship."

"Leave my friend alone!" Rayman exclaimed.

Harold also lifted his clenched fist, yelling, "Where is LeShawna?"

"LeShawna?" Razorbeard replied, since he wasn't expecting this kind of question, "Quite a slag, that girl... Running off with that other numb girl without even saying goodbye."

"Run off where?" the über-geek replied, "Tell me, where did she go?"

"To the ruins of Bayville, where Maleficent resides in Fortress Intolerance," he then spoke in a grim way, pointing a cannon to the tower, where they were, "But you won't be getting there! Hand over the Keyblade and I'll spare yours and theirs lives."

"What have you just said?" Heather asked, fazed.

"Heather, we don't wanna die!" Lindsay shouted, "Think about us!" She, Ezekiel and Globox were pretty nervous, hanging there.

"Be glad I'm merciful, unlike the Heartless. So, which will it be? Say goodbye to the Keyblade or to your friends?" Razorbeard made the disgusting proposal, expecting a long silence after that, but the answer was faster than he was expecting.

"What? Is that a menace?" Heather replied, without showing any signal of concern, "Look, you have a stupid frog, an even more stupid sexist hick and an even more stupid yet ditzy blonde. You can get rid of them, I don't care," she said, turning her face from them. Everyone gasped with her coldness and Razorbeard only shrugged, saying, "Fine," and shot a blast at the tower. When the tower was hit, it collapsed and they could only scream to their imminent death.

"No!" everyone gasped at the same time.

"Heather," Rayman yelled, clenching his fists, on the verge of tears, "What you did?" but, when he turned his head to look at the silver-wigged girl, he saw nothing, "Heather?"

"Where's her?" Donald asked.

"Excellent," Razorbeard said, in a boastful tone, "Rayman, you failed! Your friend is dead, the Keyblade wielder ran away like a coward and your world is now mine!" Then, he pointed his other cannon, "Now, let me do a favor to you." Rayman snarled at his enemy, but, before Razorbeard could fire at him, something at the direction that the tower was called the attention of everyone.

"Why do you have to be so heavy?" Heather was there, flying, like Peter Pan, and grumbling about the weight she had to bear. Her wig changed to a sparkling purple color and she was holding the tied Globox, Lindsay and Ezekiel by the rope. She was struggling to not let them fall again and tossed them on the floor, with Ezekiel's face hitting the floor.

"Heather!" Rayman shouted, happy.

"If you want the Keyblade," Heather directed to Razorbeard, "Then come get!" and she flew to his direction. The Grolgoth shot at her, but none of the blasts connected and she stabbed the head of the machine three times and ending with a Strike Raid. The optical visor was damaged, making the main screen inside the robot to get messed up. Razorbeard, realizing that this could mean trouble, pressed a button to call more Heartless. Eight Air Pirates and two Battleship appeared. Heather retreated and landed next to her group to prepare the strike. With bad visibility, Razorbeard could be a lesser or a bigger threat, depending on how much he knew about the controls, and with the Heartless on his side, things weren't going to get easier.

"Heather, you really flew!" Goofy said, astonished.

"How did you do that?" Harold asked, amazed.

"I'll explain later," she said, holding the Keyblade, "We have to defeat him."

"We must leave them to a safe place," Donald said to Chip and Dale by his communicator. The gummi ship was fully repaired but Donald didn't want to risk any damage to the ship, "Attention, we must distract Razorbeard and his Heartless to allow the gummi ship take them from here." The Heartless were approaching them, while the Grolgoth was shooting everywhere randomly, without proper aim. Before they arrived, Gwen used her scythe to unwrap them.

"Thank you again, Gwen," Lindsay thanked her, squeeing, while Ezekiel adjusted his toque and rubbed his face and Globox stood still.

"So, you finally got my name right, huh?" she replied, also happy to see she was in good condition. An Air Pirate tried to approach by the flank, but Gwen slashed it with some blows of her scythe, "I won't let they get you again."

While Donald was casting offensive spells like Fira, Blizzara and Thundara and Goofy was defending their position with his shield, Rayman jumped and, using his helicopter hair, chased the flying enemies, shooting energy spheres. Heather and Harold were also combating the enemies, when the über-geek had an idea.

"Heather, please cover me, I'm going to attack Razorbeard," and he switched his nunchakus for his num-yos.

"Whatever," she replied, dulled. She attracted the attention of a Battleship, while Harold could swing and launch his num-yos to the legs of the machine. The Grolgoth fell hard to ground, since it legs were incapacitated, and Razorbeard yelled to his remaining minions to unwrap the legs of his robot, which gave time to the gummi ship arrive.

"Quick, enter NOW! You're just dead weight!" Heather ordered, yelling and lifting her arms with clenched fists, "You too, weird goth girl!"

"Don't you need me?" Gwen scoffed.

"I don't! But they do!" the silver-wigged girl harshly replied back, pointing to Lindsay, Ezekiel and Globox.

"Okay, but don't do anything you'll regret later," the goth girl retorted, and hurried them to enter. The gummi ship retreated before the Grolgoth could get up and leaving Heather, Harold, Donald, Goofy and Rayman to fight the enemy. The Grolgoth, after getting up, jumped, trying to squash them, but they escaped. The Battleship fired missiles at them, but Rayman, shooting energy spheres, made them return to the sender. Goofy also helped to shoot down one of the ships and Heather attacked other Air Pirates, being helped by Donald. Harold tried to do the same trick he made earlier, but, this time, the Grolgoth jumped before the num-yo could link up and he had to run off from the robot to not be smashed. Heather's wig turned again to purple and she flew to attack the robot, making it lose balance. It looked like the robot didn't have a good point of equilibrium.

"You haven't seen the last of me yet!" Razorbeard roared, activating missiles against them. Heather struck one missile, which was sent back to him, and so did Rayman, Donald and Goofy. Harold, unnoticed by the missiles, went behind the robot and launched his num-yos, making the robot fall down. When the remaining Heartless went there to help unwrapping Razorbeard, but they were struck from long range by Heather and Donald's Fira and Rayman energy spheres. Harold took advantage of the opportunity to open a hatch and mess with some controls. But Razorbeard grabbed him and threw him far away.

"Ow, gosh!" he moaned, rubbing his ankle.

"Harold, are you alright?" Goofy asked.

"What were you doing?" Donald asked too.

"That guy'll have a surprise," then he shouted, "Hey, buckethead, try to hit me with your lousy missiles."

"With pleasure," Razorbeard returned, pressing the missile launch button. At that moment, there was a big explosion in the back of the robot. The blast was so strong that immobilized the robot and it again fell hard on the floor, this time definitely. The battle was won.

"It's over," Heather sighed in relief and glanced at Harold, "What you did, by the way?"

"I just swapped two wires," Harold answered, proud of himself, "That's some mad skills, hehe."

"Perhaps, you all aren't so useless," she replied, still hardly accepting their help, but accepting anyway.

"You really flew, Heather," Rayman congratulated her, "But I must admit I was intrigued: why did you do that?"

"Initially, I didn't care with them, as usual," Heather looked down, "But when Razorbeard shot at them, something inside me impelled me to jump after them. I heard a voice saying, 'Remember from Ly's words and you'll be okay' and I could gain control over me and fly," then she made a small smile, "I really flew."

"Yeah, another work well done," Goofy said, "Now we need to find a way to get out from here."

"This won't be necessary," a voice was heard from the fallen robot. There, Razorbeard ejected a escape pod, "I let you a little gift. So long, suckers!" and he escaped. A screen appeared in the robot, and there was a countdown sequence to self-destruction.

"Run!" Heather shouted and everyone jumped from the area. While they were falling, the ship exploded, outshining every single star in the sky.

Nobody knew anything about Heather, Rayman or any of the five fighters for a while. The rest of everyone was reunited in a glade, around a pedestal. Ly was watching, in a branch of a tree, and Globox was there, with his wife, Uglette, and a few of his 650 children. Gwen, Lindsay, Ezekiel, Chip and Dale were there too, along with other citizens of the Glade of Dreams, since Rayman was their hero. One of Globox's children placed one of Rayman's shoes on the top of the pedestal and other placed Heather's silver wig. There was a heavy humor in the place, until they heard somebody approaching.

It was Rayman, who was limping since he was without a shoe, Heather, who was bald, and not looking happy, Harold, Donald and Goofy. Globox's children ran to them, hugging and playing with them, even with Heather, who tried to force them back, but she let them play with her a bit, very bit. Lindsay squeezed Ezekiel in joy (to which he obviously blushed) and Gwen crossed her arms, but she was smiling at them.

"I think this belong to me," said Heather, as she was putting her wig on. When she looked at the pedestal, a keyhole was revealed. Heather summoned the Keyblade and shot a beam to the keyhole, sealing the world from the Heartless. Mission accomplished.

"Heather," Ly said, "With your help, and your friends, our world is safe..."

"They aren't my friends, they are my allies," Heather interrupted.

"You should not try to deny you need them," Ly explained, "Understand that you hold the key, you can bring peace or destruction. The ultimate choice is up to you. But, for now, you did a good job. Congratulations."

"I'D LIKE TO SAY THE SAME," a familiar high-pitched voice said. It was Chris MacLean and his gummi ship, shaped as a pirate ship, with a Chris' face as a symbol.

"Here we go," Gwen rolled her eyes.

The host exited the ship and cleared his throat, "Congratulations, Heather. You cleared another world with the Keyblade, now you're nearer and nearer from the final test."

"What do you mean with 'final test'?" Heather asked, in a surprised tone.

The host gave his trademark chuckle and said, "That's something you've gotta learn. For now take this as a prize," and he handed her a octagonal green gem, "This allow you upgrade your healing spell, sounds useful, isn't it? Be there for more TOTAL... DRAMA... WORLDS!" and he returned to the ship, taking off to the space.

Heather just stared, silent; she was thinking about what Chris' words could mean. At almost the same hour, LeShawna was arriving at Maleficent's fortress. She dropped Izzy and kneeled, leaning on her hands, breathing heavily.

"It was reckless to bring her here without at least using a vessel," Maleficent warned, "Remember, relying too heavily on the dark powers could cost you your heart."

"You... you..." when she finally caught up her breath, she glared at her, "You didn't tell me that Razorbeard was planning to destroy and enslave that world."

"That twonk pirate won't take part at our plans anymore," Maleficent calmly explained to her.

"What's happenin' to me?" LeShawna said to herself, still kneeled.

"Do you want or not to save your friend?" the witch challenged her.

"LeShawna doesn't leave any friends behind, no matter what," the girl replied, tightening her eyebrows and clenching her right fist, but then softened her expression and she looked down, "But I don't know if this' the best way to do the things," she said, unsure, "Everything's happenin' too fast, why am I using the Heartless as just as Razorbeard? How can I help anyone with darkness?"

"You have as many questions as any teenager, my dear" Maleficent said, trying to not let her confused, since it wasn't her objective and could mess a bit with her plans, "But fear not! When you master the darkness, the unlimited power will help you find the heart of your friend and from all who lose their hearts. The Heartless will be your servants, if you have a strong heart. Child, do you have a strong heart?"

"I must!"

"Are you going to do the necessary?"

"I should!"

"So, I ask again: do you want to save your friend?"

"I will!" LeShawna said the last answer getting up. Maleficent's eloquent words had instilled a new attitude on her.

"Very good, because your last test is coming."

"What?"

"A castaway will arrive soon. Though his world perished, his heart did not. When we took the princess from his castle, he apparently followed her here through sheer force of will. But fear not. No harm will come to you. He is no match for your power."

"Mah' power?" LeShawna asked, she still didn't understand Maleficent's words.

"Yes, the untapped power that lies within you. Now, child, it's time you awake that power and realized your full potential," Maleficent lifted her arms and gave LeShawna a new power, a power that allowed her to unlock a certain memory in her heart, but allowing more darkness be infused in her heart during the process.

Back at our group, they were preparing to leave Rayman's world and the limbless wonder approached Heather, "Hey, bald girl..."

"Don't call me bald!" Heather interrupted, upset.

"Well, I just wanna thank you, in spite of everything," and he gave her a new keychain, "This' the 'Dream of Life'," the keychain had the symbol of yellow Lumz, with tiny insectoid wings, "It's been with me for a good time. And this' from Ly, it's a powerful fairy technique she thought it'd be a good idea to teach you," a he gave her a scroll that taught her how to use Ars Arcanum.

"Rayman, let me go with them," Globox said, "I can help'em, I found this summon gem," Donald wasn't happy with this suggestion, but when Globox showed a summon gem, he let him go.

"I'd want to go too, Globox," Rayman added, "But I must stay here to protect our world."

"Don't worry, I'll be fine" the blue frog said, as he glowed and entered at the summon gem.

"Come back, someday," Rayman shouted as they entered at the gummi ship. Harold, Lindsay, Donald and Goofy waved their hands, while Heather and Gwen just stared at them; Gwen was smiling, but Heather had a flat expression, arms crossed, while Ezekiel had already entered in the ship.

"Look, Heather," Gwen talked, in a rather civil way, rubbing her elbow, "I know we have our... differences, but I think we should forget it for a while, with all this thing of traveling to many worlds, we must work together."

"Whatever," Heather replied, without looking at her.

"We've shown to ourselves we can cooperate before," Gwen agreed and walked away, "So be it..."

"Hiya, Donald, we do we go now?" Harold asked, taking a seat, and placing his hands behind his head.

"Chip and Dale have found a Navi-Gummi piece at the pirate ship," the magician explained, "Let's go back to the town."

"Dexter'll install it on the ship once we bring it to him."

Ezekiel was also there, taking a good sniff of the warm soup bowl in his front, before eating, "It's good to have a good meal, eh."

"Sure it is, homeschooled," Harold agreed.

"Well, I expect to take a shower when we arrive," Lindsay commented, "Right, Heather?"

Heather also took a seat and rested her head over her fists, still with her poker face, ignoring Lindsay, thinking deep in the events of the day, "I did save them and I still don't know why... is this piece of shiny metal really changing me? And why did that voice sound like Izzy's?"


	30. What's the best you can do?

A.N.: Finally new chapter, I hope you enjoy, today was a boring day, my classmates couldn't decide if health care is public good or a private good and they were discussing for hours!

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_Last time on TOTAL... DRAMA... WORLDS! After being __unceremoniously captured by Razorbeard and his Heartless crew, and meet LeShawna, Heather and her allies had to find their way through the pirate ship, with their new ally, the limbless wonder Rayman, while Gwen and Lindsay were separated from them. Gwen managed to kick some robot ass, but this wasn't enough to save Lindsay and herself, while Rayman lead Heather's team to their destination, on a wild ride, picking up Gwen on the way. They had a tough fight against a shadow version of the Keyblade wielder. After that, they finally faced the leader, Razorbeard himself. Heather, initially, didn't care with the destiny of Lindsay, Globox and that homeschooled weirdo that I keep forgetting the name, but surprised everyone when she jumped to save them, wonder what she had in mind. Anyway, with full force, they fought Razorbeard and his Heartless minions and, with Harold's risky maneuver, they defeated the robo-pirate. He tried to take them with him, but even this didn't work and Heather closed another world from the Heartless menace. And now, they're going back to Traverse Town, to see Prof. Xavier and what will happen next? Will Heather pass this angsty phase? Will Gwen and Lindsay keep their weird friendship? And will ever that boy with toque do something useful? Find out next in TOTAL... DRAMA... WORLDS!_

"Hey, look at this," Harold exclaimed, after looking at a computer screen, "Here says there's another tournament at the Coliseum: the Hercules Cup."

"Oh boy," Donald cheered, without taking eyes from the cockpit, "I can set the course there immediately, and go back to Traverse Town later."

"What d'ya think, Heather?" Goofy asked. Heather was still staring at the space, in a thoughtful stance. "Heather?" Ezekiel poked her and she answered with a rude "What?"

"I said there's going to have a new tournament in Coliseum, gosh!" Harold repeated.

"A tournament? Perhaps I can use that to distract myself," Heather thought and asked Donald, "Duck, we're going there, it'd be a pleasure to show Phil who's the best again!" and so Donald set the course to the Olympian arena.

"Hey, I didn't say that in the intro," Chris jumped in, splitting the screen.

"Buzz off!" Heather angrily replied, pushing his split screen away.

"We are we going?" Lindsay asked.

"To the games," Harold answered.

"Oooh, I love play games," the blonde replied, gleeful, "I like Pac-Man..."

"Lindsay," Gwen interrupted her gently, "It's not that kind of games."

"Well, so what can I do?"

"You still could watch," the über-geek replied, "I heard that Tyler is there."

"Tyler? Who is Tyler? That name is not strange..." Lindsay scratched her head, making a confused look. Harold preferred to change the subject and asked, "Gwen, why don't fight at Coliseum too? Your scythe would be a valuable addition to our team."

"No, thanks," the goth replied, "I had enough fun at the pirate ship, I think I'll watch by benches, and Heather is going to participate, right?" the über-geek nodded, "Great, it's going to be fun see her losing," she ended with a smirk, to which Heather didn't pay attention.

Arriving there, they made their inscription. Phil greeted them and warned Heather about the new rules. After a quick warm-up, the tournament began. Heather, Harold, Donald and Goofy entered at the arena, while Gwen, Lindsay and Ezekiel were watching from the

"For Daisy," Donald said, raising his staff.

"For the King," Goofy said, raising his shield.

"For LeShawna," Harold said, raising and swinging his nunchakus.

"For me," Heather said, raising the Keyblade.

"There they go to the first battle," Ezekiel said, "The team they'll face is called Dusk Vanguard." Five Gargoyles and three Shadows came from the gates.

"Are you Tyler?" Lindsay asked a certain blue figure.

"What? Leave me alone!" Hades screamed angrily and Lindsay talked with Gwen.

"I think he wasn't Tyler," she commented.

"Relax, Lindsay," Gwen replied taking a popcorn bag, "Heather is going to get a beating. You wouldn't want to lose this, right?"

"Oh, yes, the fight," Lindsay said, also taking some popcorn. The first fight wasn't difficult for Heather and her allies. Donald cast Thunder to damage all enemies, while Goofy rammed his shield against the Shadows and Harold jumped and swung his nunchakus to take down two Gargoyles. Heather used Rapid Strike, hitting two Gargoyles in a blow.

"Okay, that was luck," Gwen commented, initially refusing to recognize her ability.

Heather and her allies faced Pirates, Gargoyles, Knight, every type of Heartless, always working together. Gwen watched from the stands, but refused give Heather credit and opted to attribute the victories to Harold, Donald and Goofy. Heather, on the other hand, was fighting in a more independent style, using direct strikes more frequently, although not distancing too much from her allies, after all she needed them to lure enemies, assign them to desperate and almost suicide attacks and just to yell at them, although this used to be more common at other tournaments, because she wasn't in the mood.

At the fifth round, Tyler showed up again, expecting to have a chance to get back at the Keyblade wielder, his look was indicating he was more determinate than ever.

"Wait, I think I've seen that guy somewhere..." Lindsay wondered, thoughtful.

"Heather, I'm here to win," he said, angrily pointing his finger to her, "And you won't make a fool of me again, never more!"

"Heather!" Phil shouted from his place, "I've added complements to the rules! If you cheat again, you're automatically disqualified!"

"Please!" she scoffed, and carved the Keyblade on the ground, clenching her fingers in the palm, putting herself in an offensive stance, "I don't even need the Keyblade to defeat a loser like you!"

"I am not a loser! RRRAAAHH!" Tyler shouted and ran to her direction, with arms and fists lifted. Heather wasn't afraid of his charge; actually she stood still there and waited for the right moment. When the jock was a few steps from her, she narrowed her eyes and delivered a punch at his cheek, with all her strength. Tyler collapsed to the ground, but he didn't pass out. He could see Lindsay at the crowd, he felt he was recognizing him. And he was right.

"Ouch! That guy in red suit took a hard punch," Lindsay commented, "Do you know him, Gwen?"

"Isn't he Tyler?" the goth girl replied, uninterested.

"Are you sure?" the blonde asked, full of hope.

"Yeah," and that was the most blasé 'yeah' ever heard in that world. But this made Lindsay's eyes glow in happiness, and she hugged her tightly, "Oh, I finally found him, Gwen. You don't know how happy I am! I've been looking for him for the entire season!"

"Okay, I got it!" Gwen replied, forcing her back.

"Perhaps you can see him when the tournament is over, eh," suggested Ezekiel.

"Finally I find him," Lindsay sighed in joy.

In the arena, Heather was irritated, because the punch she had given also hurt her, "Ugh! Stupid Tyler! I should've used the Keyblade!" she growled, rubbing her sore hand, "He's useless, a complete failure, why did I have to fight with that lousy wussy chicken in first place?" Tyler couldn't hear Lindsay but could hear Heather. He left the arena in a stretcher, with a sore face and a wounded pride.

"Uhm, shouldn't we see him?" Goofy proposed, "If he's okay..."

"We're in the middle of a tournament, you must be kidding," Heather harshly replied. Phil actually was quite surprised that Heather won without using dirty tricks and that Tyler was really that weak.

After the break, Heather and her team entered again at the arena to face their sixth opponent. When they took a look at their next opponent, they had a living flashback: the next opponent was Wolverine. He was still the same, but he was holding his bladed mask in his hands. The crowd cheered for Wolverine and ignored Heather.

"So, time for the rematch," Heather declared, "Working again with Hades?"

"Actually, no," he said, wearing his mask, "I'm here on my own. I thought the tournament would be a good place for a distraction and to exercise my skills. The people here like me, since I spared your life."

"Interesting," she replied, putting herself in an offensive stance, holding tightly the Keyblade in her hands. Harold started to swing his nunchakus, Donald held his staff and Goofy readied his shield. "Keep you distance and watch out for his attacks," Heather ordered, in a low voice, "Split when I give the order."

When Phil allowed the beginning of the battle, Wolverine stretched his adamantium claws and lunged at their direction and Heather ordered, "Split!" Harold jumped and Goofy went to Wolverine's direction, hiding back at this shield; the mutant hit Goofy's shield, but the royal captain wasn't hurt. Heather and Donald went to different sides. When Wolverine attacked Goofy, he was in the right spot where the Keyblade wielder and the magician cast Fira at him. The two fireballs converged to where Wolverine was. He slashed away Heather's but was hit by Donald's. The action happened in a very fast time span, so when Harold jumped, Wolverine was hitting Goofy and he was still in the mid-air when the fireballs hit him, so, after this, Harold used his nunchakus to hit Wolverine's head, when he was falling down. One perpendicular hit before returning to ground and another when he landed. Wolverine fell back, only to be hit again, this time by Goofy's ramming shield attack.

"Good timing," Harold complimented, while they reunited again. They hadn't seen the last of the adamantium-based mutant and they knew that. Heather launched the Keyblade, using Strike Raid, but Wolverine blocked the weapon in the air, with one claw, and returned the Keyblade to the sender. The silver-wigged keybearer jumped and grabbed the Keyblade in the air, span and launched horizontally against him, and he blocked again with his both claws this time. Heather didn't give up and she leapt again to pick the Keyblade in the air and, with both hands, she charged forcefully at him. This time, Wolverine barely had time to block the strike and the impact blew the air away and he was launched away, falling behind. Heather was also launched to the opposite direction, but she twirled like a ballerina and landed smoothly. The crowd was silent for some time.

"Okay, that was... good," Gwen commented, agape like Lindsay, Ezekiel and the rest of the crowd.

"Cough... How did you do that?" Wolverine asked, impressed and dumbfounded.

"I won't let you defeat me this time," Heather responded, pointing the Keyblade at him

"You're good, but I can't let a girl defeat me," the mutant replied. He took defensive stance and circled Heather and her group. They didn't do anything, expecting his next move. After thirty seconds, nobody had done anything.

"Why are you taking so long?" Heather shouted, impatient. Wolverine heard that, but didn't reply, he just stood still where he was, only showing his claws, and his static grimace behind them. The crowd was repeating Wolverine's name, though they weren't shouting.

"Gawrsh, I don't understand," Goofy said, concerned, "Why's he not doing anything?"

"Move, you idiot, plastic-claws!" Heather tried to insult him, but his answer was silence, a rather cold and ominous silence. "Why does he stay there?" Heather complained, "Unless he," and at that point, Heather remembered from the first battle, when the mutant quickly recovered from a scratch caused by a Blizzara strike, and she gasped, "Oh crap! Quick! Attack!" Heather ordered, desperate.

"What?" Donald asked, confused.

"He's healing himself! Attack, you bunch of fools!"

They charged at his direction but it was already too late; Wolverine had recovered most of his health and was ready to kick their butts. First was Donald; he slashed him without problems, when the duck tried to protect behind his staff, then was Harold, with a single kick; Goofy tried to protect himself behind his shield, but his adamantium claws pierced through the shield, after a direct hit and almost hitting the dog and the mutant tossed him to the other side. Heather couldn't do much, she just defend herself, trying desperately to dodge his attacks, since she wanted to avoid what happened last time. She tried to flee from him, zigzagging through the arena, but he was attacking relentlessly. The crowd went into awe with Wolverine's counterattack.

"Harold! Do something!" she shouted, while dodging another attack, "Use your num-yos!" Donald healed them and they tried to help her. Donald used all his magic attacks, while Harold launched his num-yos, but Wolverine avoided the entangling weapon. However, they managed to stop him to attack Heather.

"Wak! He's too strong," Donald moaned.

"If only we knew his weak point..." Harold trailed off, lamenting.

"Weak point," Heather mused, "That's it, Harold, do as I say," and she whispered something at his ear. He nodded and pulled his num-yos. He swung them, but he didn't launch, while Heather walked at his direction, after casting Aero on her.

"This is simply suicide, skinny girl," Wolverine warned.

"Fight!" she replied, striking with the Keyblade. They clashed claw with blade for three times, until they reached a standoff; one of his claw was contending with the Keyblade, the same situation of the last time, both Wolverine and Heather trying to prevail over each other. It looked like Wolverine was winning over Heather, and he was ready to deliver the same blow he used to finish her in their last battle.

"GRRR! Huh?" Wolverine growled before defeating, but his arm didn't move. When he glanced at it, there was a num-yo entangled at it. Harold had launched the num-yo while Heather clashed her blade with him and was using all his strength, being helped by Donald and Goofy, to immobilize Wolverine's hand.

"Now," the silver-wigged keybearer said, gritting her teeth, "Who let the guard down?" And then, she kicked him at his... unmentionables, with all her might. "Urgh!" Wolverine's eyes opened wide and he felt an excruciating pain and slowly kneeled to the ground, taking his hands to the groin.

"The weak point of every man," Heather said, smugly. She flipped the Keyblade in the air and pointed to the kneeled mutant, "You lost, and I won." Wolverine barely could believe and slowly got up and walked off the arena, with certain difficulty. To tell the truth, neither Phil believed in.

"I can't believe she didn't lose," Gwen said, also not believing. Lindsay got up and applauded her, but the rest of crowd silenced, not because they didn't like Heather, but because they thought it was inconceivable for them to see Heather defeating such a powerful fighter. Lindsay, when she noticed she was the only one who was applauding her, looked awkwardly to the sides and slowly stopped to applaud.

Heather and her allies fought more two teams composed of Heartless, Knights, Pirates and Gargoyles, which were dispatched after some toil. Phil gave the orders, to which Harold, Goofy and Donald were listening carefully, "Next fight will be against Hercules," he was standing next to Phil, with arms crossed, "I want a clean fight, because you will be fighting against the greatest hero of this world." Heather, who was leaning against a wall, with arms crossed, didn't pay much attention and just scoffed. Phil didn't take this lightly and fumed, "Heather! You must learn to respect your adversary, especially when he's more worth than you!"

"What do you mean he's more worth than me?" the silver-wigged girl replied, bothered.

"Hercules is a true hero, and you is not worthy of even step on this floor!"

"That's stupid," Heather scorned, "The only thing that matters is victory and how much you get."

"GRRR! I have had it! You're disqualified, and will never..." before Phil could finish, Hercules patted his shoulder, "Wait Phil, leave to me." The satyr didn't know what to do and let the wonder boy talk with Heather.

"Heather, I've been looking forward to have a chance to fight with you," Hercules said, "If you stand me for three minutes in the arena, I will give you a hero's license."

"What? Only three minutes alone? Ha! You must be kidding me," Heather replied, smugly, "Why are you doing this?"

"I want to test how strong your heart is."

"Nonsense..."

"A brave spirit implies a strong heart," Hercules smirked, "Let's see if the Keyblade really chose you because of your heart or because she didn't have anyone better to choose."

"Ha! When I finish you, I'll scrub the floor with your face!" Hercules only chuckled, he wasn't very concerned. Heather, on the other side, was hiding some insecurity, after all she didn't know how powerful Hercules could be.

Heather entered first at the arena. No cheering, no booing, mostly silence, but some murmurs could be heard. Heather looked at both sides, she recognized Gwen yawning, Lindsay filing her nails and Ezekiel picking his nose. Harold, Goofy and Donald also joined them in the crowd, but they were paying more attention. But when Hercules entered, the silence became noise crowd cheered and chanted his name. Signs in suspicious-looking greek letters that were actually latin letters trying to look greek were lifted, with some women screaming, "Hercules, you're the hottest", "kiss my cat", "be the father of my children" and other fangirl stuff. He walked to the arena, standing in front of Heather. She summoned the Keyblade and taunted, "So, you're very popular... Let's see if you're going to be so popular after I crush you."

"A hero must be confident, Heather," Hercules replied, "But a hero must also respect his adversary," and an aura circled Hercules' body. Phil gave the order to begin the battle. Heather approached and tried to attack, but none of her attacks were effective.

"What? That's cheating!" she protested.

"A hero must use the strength within," he said, as he parried the Keyblade, and, after swinging his fist, he punched her. Heather fell back, avoiding a second punch and trying to counterattack, but it was fruitless: Hercules's battle aura impeded any of her hits hurt him. Heather bit her bottom lip, trying to figure out a way to break off his defenses. Thirty seconds had already passed and the crowd was still cheering for their hero.

"Hey, give up yet?" Hercules posed, flexing his muscles. Heather, in anger, launched the Keyblade against his head and it worked. His battle aura had disappeared and, without time to celebrate her little success, Heather ran forward to attack him, but the hero of the Coliseum dodged all her attacks.

"You should be weaker," Heather moaned, while striking with the Keyblade.

"A hero is always prepared," Hercules dodged nonchalantly, "Because his true source of power is his heart."

"Bullshit!" and she pointed the Keyblade to use the Sonic Blade technique. Heather dashed in full speed, but Hercules blocked her attack, with a spinning kick. Her attack was foiled and she backed away, taking some distance. When she was distant enough, Hercules jumped at Heather's direction, almost slamming her, if she didn't jump backwards at the right moment. One minute and twenty-five seconds had already passed.

Heather had started to pant. She was getting tired quickly and her opponent, but when she saw him spinning at her direction, she quickly cast Aero and protected herself a bit. Then she looked something she wasn't expecting: the hero of the Coliseum was staggering in her front. The silver-wigged keybearer smirked and used Sonic Blade. She didn't miss any of the seven hits. The crowd gasped; it was the first time in months that someone actually hit their hero. One minute and fifty seconds had already passed.

After she finished the attack, Hercules moaned, "Ouch! It looks like I'm not that invincible, hehe," but he didn't seem much hurt. Heather cast Cure on herself, and she was prepared to attack him more, but he dodge all her attacks. Two minutes and ten seconds had passed and the crowd was still cheering for him.

When Heather closed in again, he said, "Try this on for size!" and he started to glow, unleashing a wave of energy, sending Heather away, she was hurt badly. Nonetheless, she quickly got up, with spare time enough to block one of his punches. He tried another, but she blocked again; then Hercules started to glow and delivered a series of rapid punches, to which she couldn't block them all. Heather fell again, this time harder. Hercules posed to the crowd. Two minutes and thirty seconds had passed.

"It's not over yet," Heather got up, panting, with her entire body hurting.

"Not ready to get up?" Hercules asked, with arms crossed.

"Not a chance," she replied and charged at him. He avoided the attack, jumping and kicking her at her back. Heather fell again. Two minutes and thirty-six seconds had passed. She used the Keyblade as support to get up this time.

"Heather, it's over," the hero of the Coliseum warned.

"This is not the end," the silver-wigged girl replied, more determined than ever.

Hercules sighed and tried to deliver the final punch, but Heather blocked the hit with the Keyblade and managed to hit him, though it wasn't a very strong hit. Taking advantage of his distraction, she advanced, delivering more strikes as she walked forward. Hercules used again his energy attack, sending her away once more. Two minutes and fifty-two seconds had passed. Heather remained on the floor for four seconds, but, using the Keyblade as support, she got up, panting heavily. At that moment, when she finished, the three required minutes had ended, but still Heather tried to advance at Hercules.

"You may stop now," he said, holding her from attack. Heather kneeled to the ground, still trying to catch her breath.

"Did I... make it?" she asked, .

"You did it Heather," Hercules congratulated, "Heroes never give up, because their hearts make them strong." Heather couldn't understand very well what he meant and he gently grabbed her hand. The crowd was silent, but when Hercules lifted Heather's hand, the entire crowd got up and applauded her, while Phil handed her the trophy of the Hercules Cup.

After the ceremony, they returned to the lobby and Phil was presenting Heather her junior hero's license, "Thereby, I dub thee, Heather, junior heroine." Heather, now with her health recovered, accepted the license.

"And I want you to keep this, Heather," and Hercules handed her the Olympia keychain.

"Thanks, I guess..." she trailed off, after staring at the gifts.

"And remember Heather, keep making your heart stronger," Hercules said and walked away.

"Heather, you did great in the battle against Hercules," Harold said, "How does it feel?"

"Weird..." she said, placing her hand over her chest, "I still don't understand where I took forces to fight."

"Perhaps, you're still unaware of your power, a-hyuck," Goofy suggested. Heather just sighed and glanced to the side. She, then, saw the Keyblade appearing at her hand and a keyhole appearing at a wall. She pointed the Keyblade and a thin beam was launched. A locking sound was heard and they knew they had sealed the world from the Heartless. Heather still didn't understand anything and returned to the same spirit state of the beginning of the tournament.

Before they could go back to the gummi ship, they still were waiting for Lindsay. In the meantime, Wolverine showed up at the entrance. "Heather, you're here."

"What do you want?" she asked, uninterested.

"I'm here to thank you," he replied, "You defeated me, exploring a... weakness I use to forget, so I want to give you this, as a sign of appreciation," and he gave her a keychain, the symbol was identical to his mask and was named "Adamantium Will."

"Whatever..."

"Donald, I'd to know if you can give me ride," he asked, rubbing the back of his head, "I need to go back to the X-Men." The duck pilot sighed, but allowed him, with the promise he wouldn't do that anymore.

"Gosh, I wonder what Lindsay's doing," Harold commented.

"Why's she taking so long?" Donald wondered. After two minutes, Lindsay came there. She was sobbing and Gwen was patting her shoulder, trying to comfort her.

"Why is she crying, Gwen?" Harold asked.

"She can't find Tyler," she replied.

"He just disappeared," the blonde girl moaned, still crying, "Tyler where are you?"

"We don't have any more time, embark," Heather forlornly ordered.

"Okay," Gwen agreed, "Lindsay, Tyler is okay, he's still alive, please, you don't have to cry. Donald said our friends are in Traverse Town." She stopped to cry and snuffed. From a certain distance, covered by the shadows of the building, Tyler was watching them, also very saddened with the situation.

"Sorry, Lindsay," he talked to himself, "But I can't show my face to you, I'm weak and can't do anything."

"Somethin's wrong?" a voice called out Tyler.

"What? Who's here?"

"Let me see," Hades revealed himself, coming out from the darkness, "Heather humiliated you in front of your girlfriend, right?"

"Yes... but, who are you?"

"Me? That's not much important right now," Hades mused, "You want to be a winner and finally defeat that witch, right?"

"Yes, but I'm too weak," he looked down, "I can't do anything."

"No, no, no, no," the god of the underworld replied, placing a hand over his shoulder, "You just need to be stronger and with the right coach, you can even become invincible!"

"Huh? How?"

"Don't worry, follow me, and I'll be your coach." Without many options, Tyler followed Hades to the shadows, unaware about what could happen to him.

At the space, after a rather quick trip, using the warp system of the royal gummi ship, our group arrived at Traverse Town. It was a calm afternoon, when they arrived, some establishments had just reopened from the lunch break and few people were in the streets. There, Scott was waiting for them, along with Beth and Sadie, who wasn't in her mage outfit, in the landing zone. The door opened and the walking ramp was placed.

"Welcome back," greeted Scott, "We heard you've gathered the Magneto's reports."

"Yeah," Donald agreed, "These are all we've got," he said, handing the collected reports to the mutant.

"By the way, Scott," observed Harold, "The reports weren't in possession of the Heartless, but with people that seemed to control them;"

"Maleficent probably recruited them, making promises of easy rewards," Scott observed, and after taking the reports, he completed, "Prof. Xavier will surely appreciate, he told me he'll be able to provide a return right tomorrow, see you there," and he looked at Wolverine, who was coming out from the ship.

"Logan," he greeted, "That's about time you've returned." He didn't reply. "Prof. Xavier probably wants to talk with you."

"Yeah, I needed," he replied this time.

"Come with me, I know where he is," and the two mutants walked away.

"Oh boy, I think we're about to get some news of the King, right Goofy?" the duck jollied up.

"A-hyuck, I agree," the dog replied, cheerful.

"Let's take a rest," Harold said, "What about buying something delicious to eat, Heather?" he suggested to the silver wigged girl.

"Whatever," she replied. She still was expressionless, angsty, with her head slightly inclined, and not even bothered to look at them. The others preferred to not comment and Donald changed the topic, "After the lunch, let's see Dexter."

"Sure," Heather moaned, indicating some disposition.

After them, Beth and Lindsay were hugging each other, very happy to see each other after so much time, and Lindsay managed to cheer herself up, upon seeing and hugging her best friend, "I can't believe, you're safe!" exclaimed Beth.

"You too, I can't wait to tell everything," replied Lindsay. As the two best friends were squeeing together, another girl was looking at them, feeling sad for not having anyone to hug and talk and, in a bashful manner, but with a bit of hope, she asked Harold, "Harold... Is Katie with you?"

"Sorry, Sadie," he rubbed the back of his head, "We didn't find her anywhere we went." Her eyes started to tear up and she ran away, covering her eyes, crying loud. She even accidentally bumped Ezekiel in the process. Lindsay and Beth also stopped to squee when they saw Sadie running without direction, feeling sympathy for the chubby girl with pigtails.

"Beth, we must do something," Lindsay said.

"I befriended Sadie during our staying and she's been talking almost every day about Katie, when she's not practicing magic," Beth observed, "She was so hopeful when we heard you were returning... it's a pity."

"We must plan something to help Sally and with you and my new friend Gwen," she said, placing her hand over Gwen's shoulder, who was just getting out from the ship, carefree, "We'll help her!"

"I didn't say anything about being your friend," Gwen complained, very annoyed, and grumbled, "I just said I'd be nice with you!"

"Oh, please, Gwen, please, please, please!" she begged, clasping both hands in the air, with puppy eyes. Gwen glanced at her, with arms crossed, but Lindsay begged so much that Gwen had to accept.

"Fine," she sighed and rolled her eyes, "But you don't know anything about her, only that she's a clone of that other girl," she observed, grumpily, putting her hands in her pockets, "I've never talked with her, like, what's her name, in first place?" She was actually trying to get rid of a possible preoccupation.

Lindsay tapped her mouth with her finger, thinking, "Hmm, have you tried to shop with her, Beth?"

"She probably did that with Katie," Beth pondered, scratching the back of her head, "I don't think it's gonna work."

"So what about we set up a date for her?"

"Greatest idea ever!" Gwen stated, opening her arms wide and looking to the sky, but forgetting that Lindsay doesn't understand ironies.

"Thank you, Gwen, you're such a good friend!" Lindsay happily exclaimed. The goth girl just facepalmed, grumbling something about what if her goth friends would do if they see her with a rich, dumb blonde, claiming be her friend.

"But where are we going to find someone?" Beth asked, "Geoff is officially with Bridgette, Justin doesn't pay attention, Duncan almost threw a mug at her two days ago if I didn't hold him back..."

"What about him?" Lindsay said, watching Ezekiel getting up and wandering in the plaza of the first district.

"Why not trying?" Beth shrugged and called out the prairie boy, "Hey, Ezekiel, here!"

"Eh, what's up, girls?" Ezekiel asked.

"So, Daniel, what about you go on a date with a girl?" Lindsay suggested, directly.

"With you, eh?" he replied, excited.

"No, you silly," she answered, waving her hand dismissively, "It's with Sandy."

"Sadie," Beth amended.

"I don't know..." Ezekiel trailed off, rubbing his elbow and glancing at the floor, clearly he was insecure, or just unwilling to go with a girl who wasn't as beautiful as Lindsay.

"Look, Ezekiel," Gwen intervened, talking smoothly, "We are helping this girl and, for good measure, we'll help you to have a date too."

"But I'm not sure if I want to go on a date..."

"Again, I can be _quite_ persuasive," the goth girl said, coolly summoning her scythe.

"Okay, okay, eh," the prairie boy agreed with the date, showing both hands, taken back.

"Great, you need to be at the restaurant at night, like 8 pm," Beth said, pointing to the restaurant at the plaza. Ezekiel understood everything and walked away, he was going to set in order his things, waiting for the date at night.

"Yeah, we did it!" Lindsay clapped hands, "Now, Beth you must go tell Sandra."

"Leave to me," Beth replied, "This'll be a good opportunity for both of them."

"And Gwen, you were fabulous, helping him to accept."

"Don't mention it," she replied, starting to regret her idea of being nice with Lindsay.

"Group hug!" Lindsay said. Gwen tried to protest, saying she wasn't a huggy person, but they hugged her anyway, "Oh, joy..." the goth girl rolled her eyes.

After eating something and talk about the trips and stuff, our three heroes and Heather went to Dexter's shop. There, he was talking with Geppetto, he was on the counter. Pinocchio was also there

"Hmm, Geppetto, your new system for Esuna gummies is pretty interesting," he said, analyzing a blueprint, "It's amazing how your knowledge about gummis grew over."

"Oh, thanks, but this type of gummi piece are rather unknown, so I'm trying to figure a way to use them efficiently," Geppetto replied.

"Father, they're here!" Pinocchio said, gleeful, and yanking his shirt.

"Hi, everyone," Harold waved.

"Well, hello there!"

"I see you're alright," Donald said.

"A man named Scott helped us," he told them, "He even got us this house to live in. I don't know how I'll ever repay his kindness," he commented and changed the topic, "Say, I hear you four are fighting the Heartless. I thought I might be able to help you, so I decided to upgrade your gummi ship, free of charge."

"And if you are here," Dexter added, "It must mean you have another navigation gummi," he said, jumping from the counter and stretched his hand, "Let me see it." Donald handed to him and he stared at the little piece of engineering material, "Okay, wait here. I'll get it installed in no time, come back tomorrow."

After they had left the shop, the quartet went to the hotel direction, but Heather was still silent.

"Heather, is something wrong with you?" Harold asked, noticing her melancholy.

"No," she grumpily replied, not looking at him.

"Heather!" Donald said, bothered.

"Now, just remember what Donald said to ya: no frowning, no sad faces," Goofy remarked.

"In first place," she replied, nonchalant, "I don't remember agreeing with you about this."

"Medical reports says that it's more easy to smile than to frown," Harold cheerfully intervened, "When you smile, you move fewer muscles than when you frown, if we translate in physical energy... Ouch," he was once again interrupted by another slap at the nape, courtesy by Heather. Afterward, she stopped and turned to Donald and Goofy and asked, in a harsh way, "How can you be so stupidly cheerful?" she definitively couldn't understand them and this was starting to annoy her, "There's still no sign of your king. Aren't you worried?"

"Aw, phooey," Donald rolled his eyes, "Who's being stupid?"

"The king told us to go out and find the keybearer, and we found you," Goofy explained, "So, as long as we stick together, it'll all work out okay. Ya just gotta believe in yourself, that's all."

"Last time I checked, I remember you're a person who really believes in yourself," Harold said, crossing his arms and making a smug smile.

"Just believe..." Heather sighed and closed her eyes. Then she heard something in her mind, something that came from a familiar voice.

"I believe in you!"

"Huh?" Without opening her eyes, she seemed to be abducted to another world in her mind, "I told Harold that tuna pie looked suspicious," she moaned, after reopening her eyes. She was 'flying' to an enlightened point, feeling lighter than the air. After she passed by the light, the scenario started to materialize. She was floating in the sky over the roof of what seemed to be a library. An old woman was sitting on a chair and, next to her there was a little and young girl, with crisped red hair, green eyes, white skin and was wearing a long usual green dress, without sleeves and green sandals. She was running in the place, pretending to be a bird, and when she calmed down, the old woman started to tell her a story.

"Long ago, people lived in peace, bathed in the warmth of light. Everyone loved the light. Then people began to fight over it. They wanted to keep it for themselves. And darkness was born in their hearts. The darkness spread, swallowing the light and many people's hearts. It covered everything, and the world disappeared." The little girl seemed scared with this part of the story and asked, "But, granny, what happened? Everyone disappeared?"

"No, my dear, thankfully no. But small fragments of light survived..."

"Where?" she asked, inclining her head in curiously.

"In the hearts of children. With these fragments of light, children rebuilt the lost world. It's the world we live in now."

"That's good, I was afraid the darkness would won."

"Don't worry my dear, but the true light sleeps, deep within the darkness. That's why the worlds are still scattered, divided from each other. But someday, a door to the innermost darkness will open. And the true light will return."

"Really?" the girl replied, shyly.

"So, listen, child. Even in the deepest darkness, there will always be a light to guide you. Believe in the light, and the darkness will never defeat you. Your heart will shine with its power and push the darkness away. Do you understand, Izzy?"

"Izzy?" Heather gasped, very blurred, "Okay, this gives more questions than answers." Then the little Izzy looked at her direction and laughed. Heather didn't know if this was supposed to happen or no and, at that moment, the same light from before started to shine again and she reopened her eyes. She was back at Traverse Town, Harold, Donald and Goofy were standing next to her, confused.

"Heather, what happened?" Harold asked, "You're standing still here, it's kinda weird..."

"What's the matter?" Goofy also asked.

"Um, nothing, let's go," she replied, like nothing had happened, but looked down and whispered to herself, "Izzy... did you call me?"


	31. A Comic Cover

**A.N.:** New chapter, have a nice reading. I've replaced the _Winnie the Pooh _world with _Garfield and Friends _(based on the first cartoon, which was awfully good, not the fake one CGI), so I changed many aspects (the name of the world I take from Wikipedia, because the creator of Garfield indicated the setting of Garfield is on this town). I hope I have done right and, also, my spell-checker is broken, so if you see any grammar mistake or typo, please PM me.

* * *

Ezekiel entered in the Item Shop, trying to get some information about the place they had just landed (history repeats). There, he found Space Ghost talking to his Magikarps.

"Here, fishlings," he said, feeding them, "Eat some more and then you will make me rich!" He boasted, stretching his muscles. Zorak was sweeping the floor and Geoff was playing a friendly game of snooker with Duncan.

"And now, it's my turn," after Geoff tackled, Duncan grabbed his stick and concentrate to hit the white ball. Balls 8 and 10 were alligned with the first in front of the second. He closed and eye and concentrated himself, aiming the cue stick. When he was about to hit the ball he was interrupted.

"Hi folks, how is it going, eh?"

"Whoa!" Duncan was startled by the sudden interruption and accidentaly hit the white ball into the hole, committing a foul. "Damnit!" he then glanced to the prairie boy and grabbed him by the collar and scowled at him, "Hey, did you know you just cost me a game?"

"Hey," Geoff cried in joy, pumping his fists, "It's the homeschooled, woo-hooo!" and Geoff gave them both a bro's hug, "Man, it's so cool we've got another peeeps!"

"Okay, homeschooled, how did you get here?" Duncan asked, still bothered about losing the game.

"I was in another world, some pirates caught me, but then people freed me, and then we came here in a ship, eh."

"Interesting, and who came with you?" Geoff asked.

"Let me see, Heather, Harold, Gwen..."

"Gwen?" Duncan interrupted, raising his brow, "Oh, and how is she?"

"She said she would beat me if I didn't go in a date with that girl... What's her name again? Sammy?" Zeke replied, mixing up the things a bit.

"Oh, afraid of a girl," the delinquent mocked him and laughed at him. Geoff also didn't hold his snickering.

"It's true," Ezekiel furrowed his eyebrow, "She has a scary scythe, eh."

"When I see, I'll believe," Duncan smirked, crossing his arms.

"Now, can someone tell me what is this world, eh?" the prairie boy asked.

"Relax, bro," Geoff replied, coolly as usual, "Let's go to our place, you've gotta meet the gang there."

"Okay, eh."

"And your going to a date, sounds totally awesome!" Geoff smiled, but his smiled soon became a sad face, "This reminds me from Bridgette..." and he placed his hands over his face and sunk into tears, "Booo-hooo-hooo, Bridgette where are you?"

"Well, I have things to do," and Duncan left them.

At the hotel, Lindsay and Beth talking with Sadie about the date. They were sitting in the reception hall, while having tea.

"I think this is too rushed," Sadie talked, holding a cup of camomile tea.

"Don't worry, Sadie," Beth said, trying to cheer her up, and holding a cookie, "Everything is going to be fine, Ezekiel is a nice person!"

"Wasn't him who made those sexist comments at our first day together at the camp?" Sadie said, still saddened. She wasn't excited with Lindsay's idea.

"Ooh, I don't remember," Lindsay replied, she was telling the truth.

"I know, but he didn't mean what he said," the farmer girl said, "He has changed, much more likeable."

"But he still picks his nose," Lindsay innocently commented. Sadie looked a bit disgusted while Beth smiled nervously.

"Sighs... But I don't know if I can," Sadie explained, holding a cup of tea, "Merlin told me to bring these papers to him today, and he is available only at night..."

"Oh, this is not good," Lindsay talked under her breath and gazed worried at Beth, who also didn't know what she could do. At that moment, Heather and her group entered at the hotel. Harold, Donald and Goofy stopped to greet them, but Heather preferred to ignore. Lindsay, noticing that the keybearer would pass by them, straight to a room, called her attention, yelling her name.

"What that dumb blonde wants now?" Heather grumpily thought and she turned to her, making an annoyed grimace.

"It's so good that you're here..." Lindsay said, happily walking to her.

"What do you want?" Heather harshly interrupted her.

"Well, uhm, I didn't finish," she replied, constrained by her rough interruption.

"I don't care," Heather crossed her arms and turned her nose up, "If you are acting all nice with someone it's because you want me to do you a favor."

"But..."

"Spit it out," Heather narrowed her eyebrows and stared at her nails, with a lack of consideration stamped on her face, "I don't have the entire day."

Lindsay didn't give up and said, "Can you deliver Merlin these papers that Sadie is holding, tonight? It's because she's going to a date..."

"Ha! Do you think I look like a delivery girl?" Heather scoffed, "In your dreams," and turned around, but her nape started to itch again. Lindsay, and the other who were watching by distance and didn't pay much attention to their talk, stared silently as she tried to go to her room, scratching her nape. The feeling was so intense that she slammed the door and, five seconds later, she opened and returned to talk with Lindsay.

"Okay, grrr, fine!" she said, angrily scratching the spot, "I'll deliver the flipping papers to Merlin! Happy now?"

"Oooh, thank you," the blonde leapt for joy as Heather felt relief when the feeling stopped. "Come on, Katie," she said, dragging her by the arm, as Beth followed them.

"But, I'm Sadie," she said, but she couldn't be mad at Lindsay, but she was still depressed.

"Well, why do I always have to do this?" Heather moaned as she looked at the papers Sadie gave to her. "Strange, they're blank."

"The dimensions of the paper reminds me from a comic book," Harold commented, as he picked one of the papers, "They also seem to be a bit old, the edges are starting to get yellow." Heather mumbled something like "nerd" and looked aside.

"This could be magic ones?" Donald wondered.

"Probably," the geek replied, stroking his chin, "Perhaps has something to do with that rare comic book we gave to Merlin that time."

"Which comic book? I don't remember, a-hyuck," Goofy replied, scratching his head.

"That one Kurt asked us to deliver last time we were here," Donald answered.

"Ah, yes..."

"Gosh, it seems like an eternity since we were here," Harold commented, thoughtful, "It makes me wonder about all the adventure we had together."

"Tripe..." Heather talked under her breath, "I just want this end soon and then I will have my normal life back."

"C'mon, Heather, you'd have good stories to tell your children," Harold smiled.

Heather groaned and changed the topic, "Well, let's go there," she shrugged and flink at her wig, "I have so many things to do, but now I have to sacrifice my free time for great sake."

"You could've been doing what?" Goofy asked.

"None of your business," the silver-wigged girl snapped, and turned her nose up, crossing her arms, standing still. What she didn't notice was that a girl was behind her. She had big blue eyes, blonde hair, with two pigtails, and was wearing a pink dress, with pink shoes and long white socks. She was staring for a few moments at her wig, with wide-opened eyes and decided to pull. Noticing her 'hair' was moving, and that Heather was startled by the sudden interference, she started to scream, "It's a wig! It's a wig! It's a wiiig! IT'S A WIIIIIIIIG!" And ran through the entire hotel and then got out to the plaza, yelling "IT'S A WIG!"

"Who was that creepy child?" Heather wondered, adjusting her wig, while the others just stared.

When the night arrived, Merlin was waiting for them at his study.

"Merlin, we are here!" Heather said, trying to look impatient.

"Oh, Heather, what a pleasant surprise," he replied, "Where's Sadie?"

"She couldn't come here," Harold explained, "But she asked us to deliver the pages to you," and he handed over to him.

"Oh, yes, oh yes..." the wizard took the blank pages, staring at them with interest; it was like he could read them.

"Excuse me, Merlin," Donald intervened, "Is there something special about the pages."

"These must be part of this comic book, I can feel a rare kind of magic over them," Merlin said, giving the papers to Heather, "Now, please, put next to the comic, while I search in my library for some reference." Heather groaned, but complied. The comic book was over a reading desk, still in the sack, and, when Heather approached, holding the papers, the comic book and the papers started to glow.

"Huh, Merlin, is that supposed to happen?" Heather asked, turning her head to him.

"What?" the pages came out from Heather's hands and entered at the sack. When the last page entered, the sack shone heavily for a few seconds, and when the light faded out, Heather was not with them anymore.

**Muncie Town**

"Ow," she said, as she woke up, rubbing her head, "Where am I?" After she got up and got used to the light, she saw that she was in an urban park. Trees and grass everywhere, and there was a path which passed by the entire place and next to her there was a bench. In the bench, a cat was sitting on. He was fat, orange, with black stripes was there in a thoughtful instance. Heather approached him and stared at the cat.

"Think, think, think," he said, touching his head, not bothering with the girl. At his side there was a brown teddy bear.

"Great, a lost cat," she thought.

The cat looked at her and said, without moving her mouth, "I'm not lost, I'm in meditation."

"What?" Heather said, surprised, "How did you know what I was thinking? And how are you talking?"

With a lazy smile and eyes half-opened, he replied, "So, you are a teenage girl that can understand me, that's something unusual in this world."

"So I don't even need to move my mouth to talk with you?" Heather replied, pointing to him. The cat just nodded. "So, what the deal with this world?"

"This is Muncie, it's not a big world, we have this city, the countryside..." he then looked better at Heather's wig, "And why do you have white hair?"

"It's silver, it's fashion!" she thought, stomping her foot, "And how do I get out from here?"

"I don't know, but I know something: everyone has disappeared, perhaps it happened when I was sleeping. There's nothing like sleep and eat."

"Lucky guy," she rolled her eyes.

In no time after saying that, his belly snored aloud and even moved a bit. Heather immediately reminded from Owen, especially when he got too much hungry, which happened every twenty minutes. The cat looked at his belly and said, without moving his mouth, lazily smiling, "Sounds like it's time to fill in the paunch. I just hope there's lasagna or anything else."

"I think only lasagna is not enough to your appetite, right?" Heather sarcastically asked.

"When I'm not eating I'm asleep, simple," the cat replied, "Life can be simple, but people complicates..." Then the cat got out from the bench and stood on his four paws and said, "Well, I'm going back home. By the way, my name is Garfield, if you want to help me to get feed, go to my house."

"Hmpf! As if..." Heather made a bothered face crossed her arms. Garfield didn't reply anything. Heather watched as he was going. Garfield made her remember from her pet cat, Bruiser. Unlike Garfield, she was thinner and had white fur all over her body but also liked to sleep and eat. Even though she started to think about how bad she treated people like Lindsay, she never did anything evil to her cat, in fact, she liked her. Bruiser was a very independent pet, like most of the cats and her owner herself, sometimes rejecting orders, sometimes doing the opposite that her owner ordered. But she was always ready to be caressed. Every day Heather was angry or upset, she always kept next to her, with a concerned look, hoping to light up her day; sometimes did work and sometimes did not. But now she was gone. She knew this day would come, but not in a destructive way like that day. And so, somewhat stirred by the memory of her pet, she decided to follow Garfield.

When she left the park, a light flashed and when it faded out, Heather saw that she was walking on the comic book. She was at the top of the page, in the first strip. Firstly, she thought how weird was the situation and, when she stepped on the second strip, lights flashed again, bringing her to another area. This time she was in front of a house, a simple suburban house, painted of blue, with white doors. Heather, looking that nobody was seen there, decided to enter and take a look.

"Hello, is anyone here?" she shouted as she entered in the house, a normal house, two stores house, with living room, kitchen and all normal accomodations, only one thing called Heather's attention: it was a bowl, with Garfield's name, next to another with the label "Odie". "So, I've discovered his house, but where is he?"

"Garfield," she heard a voice calling Garfield, "Are you here?" Heather went to living room and saw a tiny gray mouse. When they exchanged looks, the moused became scared and quickly hid into his hole. "Wait!" Heather glanced and saw a vacuum cleaner next to her; she picked the appliance and pointed to the hole. It sucked until do a certain noise and now the mouse was stuck in the nozzle.

"Please, don't eat me," he said, also without moving his mouth, covering his face, still stuck in the vacuum, "I'm not tasty! Not even Garfield would eat me!"

"I won't hurt you," Heather thought impatient, "I just want to know how the heck I get out from this world!"

"So, can you please let me go?" the mouse replied, still scared. Heather turned the appliance off and dropped in the floor. The moused sighed in relief, "Thanks! My name is Floyd, and I was looking for Garfield."

"So, you know the fat cat," Heather commented and ducked to hear him better. "Now, tell me how I get out from this world!"

"Hmm, I don't know..." Floyd said, scratching his head.

"Ugh!" she looked down angry and punched the floor.

Suddenly, Garfield appeared, smiling as usual. "So, what's going on, Floyd?"

"Garfield, glad you're here!"

"You are a cat, weren't yo supposed to hunt him?" Heather thought.

"Nah," the fat cat waved his hand dismissively, "Floyd is my best friend and Jon doesn't mind about it."

"Who's Jon?" she asked.

"He's my servant, don't worry." Heather just shrugged.

"Garfield, I brought you what you were needing," Floyd came in, "It's in the backyard." And then they walked to the backyard. There, Floyd showed him some empty ballons, some string and a tank of heilum gas.

"Excellent, Floyd," Garfield congratulated him, "Now, help me tying around my waist."

"Are you sure they'll support you weight?" the mouse asked, picking the string.

"Are you calling me fat?" the cat pouted.

"Aren't ya?"

"Point taken," Garfield shrugged.

"Why do you need it?" Heather asked.

"Our neighbour has an apple tree and they're already ripe," Garfield explained as Floyd helped to tie the ballons, "But he won't let me in his backyard to pick the apples."

"So, you're stealing," Heather smirked.

"If I don't leave my backyard, it won't be stealing," and Floyd already finished to tie and he pumped in the gas. "I'll throw the apples to you and you must bounce them to the sack Floyd's holding," Garfield started to float and quickly reached the top, where he was confronted by a red bird.

"You fat cat, you come here again!" the bird angrily talked.

"Ludlow, it's not what you think," Garfield replied, visibly nervous, eyes opened wide and ears downed.

"You still want to have my son for lunch," the bird said, glaring at him.

"No, no, no, I just want to pick some apples... Do you want some?"

"Hey, what's happening there?" Heather shouted in thought.

"What? Who are you?" the bird flew to Heather, "What do you want with my son?"

"Please, I have better things to think about," she rolled her eyes, "Look, do you want some apples? Just get some apples and leave the cat alone."

"I want apple, daddy," his son shouted from the nest. Luckily, Garfield wasn't next to him.

"Okay, but if he gets close to my son, I'll burst those ballons!" The lazy, fat cat sighed in relief and wiped the sweat from his forehead. He then made a thumbs up and started to collect the apples. The apples added weight to him and he had toss the apples to Heather whenever he needed. She used the Keyblade to bounce the apples to a sack that Floyd was holding. It was rather simple.

"Now, I need to get that apple..." Garfield thought, but he was approaching Ludlow's nest and he did not get pleased and flew to the ballons. Garfield quickly threw a last apple to Heather, but she bounced it to Ludlow's nest and he left Garfield alone. Whenever Garfield approached too close from his nest, Heather would have to send a apple to him, but, nonetheless, the strategy worked and they had a sack full of apples in the end.

"Thank you daddy," Ludlow's son thanked happily chewing a piece of an apple.

"I guess I must thank you, cat," Ludlow said, not angry anymore, with a little smile.

"No problem," Garfield waved and added under his breath, "Why don't you move away?"

"We've got lots of apples, Garfield," Floyd happily remarked, "And I've got a lot of time screen!"

Garfield gave one apple to Floyd and another apple to Heather and turned the sack upside down, opening his mouth wide, letting all apples slide into his stomach.

"Why do I have the feeling I shouldn't be impressed?" Heather thought with an unfazed look, while chewing her apple.

"At least he spared one apple to each of us," Floyd added.

"Delicious entremets," Garfield commented, licking his lips, and caressing his belly, "But I think there's room for more."

"More?" thought Heather, not believing.

"You don't know Garfield very well," said Floyd. Heather just shrugged.

After he finished, Heather looked at the window and noticed a man wearing a blue shirt, with brown trousers and shoes, with big eyes and scruffy hair, tiptoeing from the kitchen. He was walking carefully and looking at the sides to see if anybody was there. Heather walked to the window and stared at the man, and concluded he was the owner of the house and the cat.

"Uhm, hi!" she said, calling his attention. The man freaked out, tripped on the vacuum cleaner and fell to the ground, knocking down a chair on himself. Heather covered her mouth, to don't show her laugh, and rolled her eyes. When the man finally got up, he asked, "Who are you?"

"My name is Heather and I," she had to think something quickly, "I brought your cat back, he was kinda lost," she picked up Garfield and showed to him. Floyd had already returned to his hole.

"Oh, you're just a teenager with weird hair," the man replied, dusting himself off.

"Hey!"

"Today's kids... My name is Jon Arbuckle and thanks for bringing my cat."

"So, this is your 'servant'," Heather thought, glancing at Garfield.

"He's a good person, but he's also cartoonist," Garfield replied, still with his lazy smile, "He's s far from perfection as stars are far from each other."

They entered in the house, and after Jon cleaned up the mess, with little success, she asked, "So, Mr. Arbakel, do you know how can I get out from this world?"

"It's Arbuckle," he replied, a bit annoyed.

"Nobody told you to have a weird name," she thought and Garfield snickered.

"And I don't know what are you talking about."

Heather only sighed and asked again, "So, why were you tiptoeing from the kitchen?"

Jon gulped and answered nervously, "Nothing, there is nothing in the kitchen!" and then he whispered to Heather, "I can't let Garfield know that the mailman brought my mama's special cookies, Garfield always eat everything and," he screamed as he heard a sound from dishes crashing against the wall, "Garfield!"

Garfield was examining the cupboard, throwing off everything in his way, and finally found and ate the special cookies. Jon tried to run to impede this, but it was too late, the cookies had met their fate at Garfield's belly.

Garfield came from the cupboard with a jar of cookies stuck around his head, apparently the jar was stuck because of the cat's fat neck. Jon put his hands on hips and frowned, he didn't know if he was to feel anger, because it was the bajillionesim time he lost his cookies to the cat, or sadness, because they were his mom's cookies, "Garfield! How many times I must say you to not eat my cookies! They're special!"

"Tell your mama to put more mint," Garfield replied, in thought, raising a hand.

"Now I have to take you to dr. Liz," Jon said, looking to the roof and throwing his arms to the air, but then he tapped his chin and smirked, "Which is not necessarily a bad thing. It's better I groom myself!" and he went to his room, leaving Heather alone with the cat.

"So, what are you going to do?" Heather crossed her arms.

"I can easily get out from this situation or I could exercise my compassive powers and let Jon see Liz."

"Does he like her?"

"Yes, but he'll fail anyway..."

"Garfield, I'm ready," he said upon entering in the kitchen. He was wearing a very gaudy blue suit with a red tie, smiling. "I hope Liz like my new suit."

"No, she won't," Heather grumbled.

"Let me see, he's wearing a disturbing blue suit, right?" Garfield asked.

"Yeah."

"So, it's better I do him a favor," and Garfield used his feet to take off the jar from his head. After some effort, the jar went flying away, hitting the wall, breaking in pieces. Garfield was a bit dizzy, and Jon moaned. "Darn, now how can I make up an excuse to see Liz..." and then he placed his finger on his lower lip and mused, "And who said I need?" He grinned cockly and picked the keys of his car, "Heather, please take a look on Garfield, I'll be back soon. Or not."

"I guess I failed," Garfield commented, nonchalant, "Let's see if there's some ice cream left in the fridge..."

"I just wonder, is there any food you don't like?" Heather rolled her eyes.

"Raisins and panettones," Garfield stated flatly, stucking out his tongue. He took a look in the frigde and tried to reach a pot of ice cream. He opened and saw that was almost empty. "Good, now I need to buy more ice cream." And the cat walked away from the house. Heather shrugged and followed him. When she left the house, she was again transported to the top of the page and entered in the next strip.

Now the Keyblade wielder was in another part of the town. It was a playground, with seesaws, balances and sliders and some kids playing. "Strange, it seems that people are slowly appearing over the world..." She then heard a bark from behind. When she turned, she saw a yellow beagle with big eyes and a long tongue, "What do you want? Shooo," but the dog kept leaping and barking happily around her, "Oh, perhaps he wants to play... Maybe if I throw a stick, but there's none here..." and so, she had an idea, smirking. She summoned the Keyblade and showed to the dog, "See, go get it," and she threw it afar. "Now, that dog will let me in peace," and the Keyblade reappeared again at her hand and disappeared, ready to be summoned whenever she needed. When she was turning around, the dog returned, holding the Keyblade between his teeth. He dropped on the ground, waiting for a second round.

"What are the odds?" Heather asked to herself, open-mouthed, trying to figure out a reason for this. She tried again to do the same thing, this time holding for more time the Keyblade in her hands. When the Keyblade disappeared, the dog returned, bringing the Keyblade. "What the..."

She tossed again, this time with more force, but this time she held the Keyblade until the dog returned. When the dog returned, he brought a gem. When Heather looked at, after cleaning from the saliva, she thought, "This must be a summon gem."

"I see you knew Odie," Garfield cut in. Odie jumped on him, cheerfully licking him with his long tongue, "Okay, Odie, stop," Garfield was trying to force him back. When he let him go, Garfield was more or less soaked.

"Okay, what are you doing here?" Heather asked.

"There's an ice cream man, there," Garfield said, pointing to a ice cream seller, with his cart, not far from them, "And I want some ice cream, so we must think about a plan."

"What do you mean with 'we'?" Heather furrowed her eyebrows.

"Nah," he replied, with his lazy smile, "You just have to distract the seller, go play with Odie a little more, and you must accidentaly toss your stick to his direction."

"Whatever and it's not a stick,," Heather grumbled, but did anyway; she wasn't disliking so much as she was trying to show. She played for while with Odie, as Garfield was taking position to execute his plan. When Heather threw the Keyblade to his direction, Odie ran to the seller and startled him a bit. After a quick recover, he went to check him out. "Hey, little dog, watch out."

"That was nothing," Heather replied, not thinking much.

"You better be careful with – HEY!"

When he was distant enough from the cart, Garfield hijacked the vehicle and ran away. The seller noticed that the hairy walking meatball snatched his cart and ran after him. Heather and Odie also followed. It happened that, while Garfield was trying to guide the cart, with everyone pursuing him, he slammed into a parked car. The impact made him be launched inside a truck and the ice cream was launched over the owner of the car: Jon Arbuckle, who had just parked his car. The cartoonist chattered his teeth in cold and his suit was totally ruined, and there was much rejoicing from the crowd who had to put up with the sight of Jon's suit.

"My suit!" Jon yelled, looking at his ruined suit, with shades of strawberry, vanilla, chocolate, all ice cream flavors available spilled over his suit, and, to complete, a slightly inclined vanilla ice cream cone on the top of his head.

"My ice cream cart!" the seller pointed to the fat cat, who was inside the truck, which was conveniently a lasagna delivery truck, "Is that your cat?"

"Garfield, are you okay?" Jon asked; he didn't know if he was angry or concerned with his pet.

"Better impossible," Garfield replied, while chewing a lasagna; he was entirely covered in lasagna, "Saved my the miracle of the pasta."

"Garfield," Jon said, relieved, because that meant he could be angry without guilty, "What were you doing, stealing a ice cream cart?" and he picked his wallet to reimburse the seller.

"Is he always like this?" the ice cream seller asked.

"Unfortunately," Jon replied, "I wish he could stay more quiet, I can only work in peace when he's asleep."

"And what's your job?"

"I'm a cartoonist," and he handed the money to him, "This must cover all losses."

"No, I can't accept," the ice cream seller replied, shaking his head, "You're a cartoonist, so you need the money more than me," and he picked his cart, which was still moving, and went away. Jon stared dumbfounded and a little offended, "Cartoonists aren't that ill-paid, at least I'm not a fanfic writer."

"Yeah, but if they were paid, they'd get sued," Garfield added, gulping another lasagna box.

"Sighs... I think it's better now I forget that date with Liz," Jon looked down.

"What date?" Garfield asked with sarcasm and Odie nodded in agreement. Suddenly, Liz, in [jaleco] appeared and asked, after noticing Jon in such a calamitous state, "Jon, what are you doing here, covered in ice cream and wearing a weird suit?"

"Ahhh, gaaah," Jon was without words, "I... just want to... know if... if... you'd want to... go on a date with me?" Jon was so desperate he did everything wrong, he gestured like crazy and ended with a dire, wretched smile. Liz looked at the cartoonist and, feeling much pity, once again, decided to concede, "Perhaps there's a chance," she gave him a sympathetic look, "Call me when you get at your home... and you're kinda cute with this cream ice cream hat," and she got off, thinking about if she had done the right thing.

"Yeah, I did it!" Jon leapt in joy. Garfield just rolled his eyes, "Now, let's go home, Garfield, Odie," and they entered in his car. "Heather, please, go visit us anytime."

"Okay," she replied. Again, the light returned and she was on the top of the comic. She, again, went to the next strip, returning to Garfield's house. In front of the door, she saw a package, filled with holes and with a label, 'To Abu Dhabi'. She picked the package and entered. There, Jon was talking to Liz in the phone, wearing his normal outfit, to the relief of everyone. Garfield was sitting on the armchair, watching 'The Binky Show', along with Odie. He seemed a bit bored, with eyes half-opened, leaning his head on his palm, while Odie seemed normal.

"Heeeeeeey, kiiiiiiiiids!" the clown yelled from the TV and launched a cream pie to the camera. The pie passed over the screen and hit Garfield directly. "Last time was a chocolate pie," the cat commented, deadpan, while Odie was cheerfully licking his face and cleaning from the cream. Heather didn't understand anything, obviously.

Jon finished his talk and greeted Heather, "You've returned early."

"I found this at your door," and she gave him the package. When Jon opened, there was a gray little cat inside. Jon frowned and scolded Garfield, "Garfield, how many times must I say you to not send Nermal to Abu Dhabi?"

"Do you think Ulan-Bator would be farther?" the lazy cat replied. Jon flail his arms in the air in frustation and walked away.

"Garfield, someday you'll be sorry," Nermal speaked, also without moving his lips (yeah, Nermal is male).

"But I'm not," he replied, with his lazy smile.

"Who are you?" Heather thought.

"I'm Nermal, the world's cutest kitty cat!" he said, showing off himself.

"Do you know if we join his and Odie's brain, we'd still have half a brain?" Garfield sarcastically commented. Odie stood still there, with his tongue stuck out.

"You are just jealous," the cute cat challenged him

"What? Jealous about you?" Garfield frowned, lowering his ears and narrowing his eyes, and then he turned his nose up, "I'd never be jealous about you, I have my standards."

"You're jealous because I'm cuter than you," Nermal provoked him, smirking.

"Do you want to go back to the box?" Garfield furrowed his eyebrows.

"No, Garfield, I'll tell Jon," the cute cat replied.

"Hey, you two, stop!" Heather intervened, after starting to get impatient with both of them.

"Okay, what do we do now, Garfield?" Nermal asked, "I'm full of energy," he said, while toying with a knot ball. Odie barked, but still with his tongue stuck out.

"Whatever, I think I'm going to take a nap," Garfield yawned and walked to his bed, "Let's get some beautiful sleep Pooky... Pooky?" The cat became restless all of sudden, "Where are you?"

"Who is Pooky?" Heather asked.

"It's his teddy bear," Nermal answered.

"I saw a teddy bear at the park, next to you, Garfield," the silver-wigged girl said.

Garfield facepalmed and said, "How could I let him there?" and walked away to the park, walking faster than usual, but not running, because Garfields don't run.

"Let's go Odie," and Nermal followed him, along with Odie, who barked in agreement. Heather, seeing that she had nothing to do, also followed them, but when she passed by the door, she was again on the top of the comic. She also saw that was the last strip and entered there. She returned to the park, Garfield was next to her.

"Now, where did I let him?" wondered the fat, lazy cat.

"Pooky?"

"That's right!" Heather shrugged, she didn't seem to bother with his lose, and helped the cat to find his teddy bear.

While they were walking by the park, they heard a voice coming from inside a tree trunk. "Help!" Heather and Garfield went to check it out and saw Floyd stuck by his tail on a tiny gap. Heather helped the mouse and he was free in no time.

"Thanks, Heather, I was stuck here," Floyd said.

"What the heck were you doing here?" she asked, rough.

"Nermal and Odie told me Garfield had lost Pooky and I came to the park to help," he explained and walked away, "Keep looking."

"Great! Pooky, you'll be fine soon," Garfield mused. Heather also saw that Odie was pursuing cars in the street. The street wasn't so full of cars, but even so, she decided to go there, pick him to avoid a worse situation.

"Odie, what were you doing?" Heather angrily asked. Odie didn't talk, but gestured and made different barks.

"So you're saying, you're helping me too," Garfield said, to which Odie nodded, "So, why were you pursuing cars?" Odie only stuck out his tongue and merrily licked Garfield. The cat forced him back after a few seconds, and Heather was laughing, covering her mouth.

When Odie stopped, Garfield asked, "Odie, go look for Pooky, and don't go pursue cars anymore, okay?" Odie barked and ran away, with his tongue always stuck out.

After walking for a while, they heard Nermal screaming, "Hey, Garfield!" he was stuck on a tree, "I climbed this tree and now I don't know how to go back."

"Looks like I don't have to spend money on seals anymore," Garfield smiled.

"Garfield, this is not funny," Nermal shouted, indignant.

"Jump at me!" Heather replied, making signals for him to jump.

"I don't know..."

"It's the fastest way," the keybearer replied again, impatient.

Reuniting all the courage he could get together, he jumped and landed softly on Heather's arms. "Phew, that was close," Nermal sighed in relief.

"Killjoy," Garfield crossed his arms.

"Garfield, I'm also helping you, be nice," the cute kitten replied and also walked away. Garfield just sighed, and kept his trail, along with Heather, then Heather moaned, "When are we going to find the bear?"

"You mean the bears," a voice called them out. Garfield made a concerned look and clutched his head, "Oh, no, they are here!"

"Who?" Heather asked.

"Billy!"

"Bob!"

"Bertie!"

Three bears wearing the same outfit, a white shirt with blue stripes, a circular hat of the same color and each one was holding his own cane, their only difference was the height from each one. "We are the Buddy Bears!"

The taller one appeared behind Heather, "We will teach you to get along!" The smaller one appeared beside Garfield, "And if you ever disagree..." and the one with medium height appeared hugging them, "It means that you are wrong!" Heather seemed shocked with them and Garfield was pretty nervous. "We are the Buddy Bears!" the three of them posed and shouted at the same time, that's when they were catapulted by a hidden launcher under their feet. "AAAAHHH!" and they flew miles away from them.

"What a relief," Heather sighed, "Those weirdoes were starting to freak me out. I wonder what happened."

Out of the bushes, a pink cat came out, holding a remote control on her teeth, "I thought you'd need some help, Garfield."

"Penelope, it was you," Garfield smiled. She dropped down the control and kissed him on his cheek and said, "We're looking for Pooky, I hope you're happy."

"You don't imagine how..."

"See ya, we'll find him," and she walked away, to the opposite direction. Garfield was distracted until Heather snapped him out, "Girlfriend?"

"Oh, what?" he looked aside and rubbed the back of his fat head, "Yeah," he smiled sheepshily.

After wandering for a good fifteen minutes, Garfield decided to stop to rest on the same bench they found each other for the first time.

"I'm tired," he moaned, "But I can't give up."

"Look, why do you care with him so much?" Heather asked, since she was starting to get impatient, again, "I don't understand why you are so concerned, it's just a toy," she then crossed her arms, "You looked so solid..."

"Hey, Pooky is very special for me," Garfield replied, slightly irritated.

"I believe it's not common to you to say things like this..." the silver-wigged girl smirked, "You look so wimpy..."

Garfield frowned at this, "It's not a weakness show consideration, care for others, even if they are toys."

"So you mean you care with him?"

"I care with Pooky, I care with Jon, Odie, Penelope, Floyd, and even Nermal! They're very special for me, even if I don't say everyday!"

"Then you should look behind." Garfield did as said and he saw everyone behind him, Jon, Liz, Odie, Nermal, Penelope and Floyd.

"Garfield," Jon said, "We found your Pooky, he was next to the bench all time," the cartoonist explained, "Luckily nobody got him," and he handed Pooky to him. Garfield hugged the toy and thanked everyone with a 'thank you', although Jon and Liz couldn't hear, they knew he was thanking them. Heather couldn't hide her smile, that was a touching moment, even though it seemed very childish for her.

"You care with us, Garfield," Floyd said, "And we care about you too." Odie agreed, licking his face, while Nermal and Penelope hugged him.

"My job here is over," Heather said, a little aloud, turning her back to them.

"Heather, wait," Nermal intervened, "Where are you going?"

"I need to complete my job and go back to my... allies..." she stopped to reply them, but without turning to them.

"I hope you find your friends," Garfield wished, "e shall always be here. If you'd like to visit again, that is."

"Friends..." Heather thought, and turned to them, waving, "Bye!" Everyone answered, also waving their hands, wishing best luck for her. While Heather was walking away, she thought with herself, "Care with others is not a weakness... Ha! let's see... So what is strength?" A light engulfed her and she was on the top of the comic book, since she complete all the strips. She was magically lifted from the comic and the comic book closed itself. There was a giant keyhole in the cover and Heather summoned the Keyblade to seal the world. The cover was her, walking along with Garfield on the path of the park.

Back at Merlin's study, Harold, Donald and Goofy were waiting for her.

"I wonder why she is taking so long, a-hyuck," Goofy commented.

"It's been like one hour," Harold observed. At that moment, a gleaming light appeared and Heather was magically transported to the study.

"Heather, how are you?" Merlin asked.

"I'm good," she flink at her wig, "Missed me much?" The others stared at her, somewhat dumbfounded, they weren't expecting her to be in good mood.

"Heather, what happened in the comic book?" Harold asked, adjusting his glasses.

"Oh, you don't have idea," she replied. The others were still without words. "What? Have you never seen me in good humour?"

At the unknown location, Chris MacLean was watching her, "Actually no, Heather. But they will know at the right time," and he finished with his trademark chuckle.


	32. Attack of the 20ft Gyarados

**A.N.: **Well, here it is, after a long wait, I finally give you, my fellow readers, the new chapter. In my original plan I had this as a filler, but, considering that would be an insult to the people that was waiting, I decided to cover the beginning of the the Hollow Bastion/Bayville arc, so the first part will be a filler, to tie up loose ends from the last chapter and the second is their arrival at Maleficent's world. Also I'll be using OCs of me, that I used in _Prairie Boy? Whose Prairie Boy_?, but just as reference. Well, merry Christmas, Happy New Year and good reading!

* * *

It was seven p.m. in Traverse Town's clock tower. The night was starry, as usual, and people were walking in peace. The restaurant was full of people and Ezekiel was one of them, waiting for Sadie, and he was picking his nose, she hadn't arrived yet.

"Why is she taking so long, eh?" he mused, taking a sip of soda.

Outside, Lindsay and Beth were still trying to convince Sadie to come in, "C'mon Sophie, he's waiting for you."

"I don't know," Sadie replied, wearily, "If she thinks I'm ugly or fat..."

Gwen, who was next to them, with arms crossed impatient, rolled her eyes and thought, "He's Ezekiel, anything that hit on him is profit."

After some insistence, Sadie entered in the restaurant and shyly walked to Ezekiel's table. Beth, Lindsay ad Gwen were discreetly watching over a distance.

"Hi," Sadie said, with a dispirited voice, standing next to him.

"Hi, eh."

"Is somenone already here?"

"Nuh-uh."

"If you don't mind," and she took a sit next to him.

After a few seconds of awkward silence, Ezekiel tried to break the ice, "So... My name is Ezekiel, what's your name?"

"Sadie," she replied, not looking at him, "And I know who you are."

Ezekiel glanced aside and offered soda to her. She did accept, pouring some on her cup. The prairie boy turned his head to the side and saw Lindsay and Beth giving him a thumbs up. Feeling a bit more confident, he asked, "So, how is it going?"

"Horrible!" she started to sob, "Every day is a martyrdom, boo hoo hoo." Ezekiel felt sorry, but didn't do anything, only listened to her. She was crying loud and was attracting the attention of the other customers, some even started to move to more distant tables, "Why was I separated from Katie, why?"

Beth and Lindsay looked at each other, with their looking saying "Looks like things aren't going as expected." Gwen just facepalmed and walked off, saying "This is going to end bad, real bad, and I don't want to stay here when the time comes," Lindsay tried to make her stay, but, before she could say something, the goth girl completed her phrase, "And don't even try to change my mind."

"Sandy is so distressed... We've gotta do something, Beth," Lindsay said, "Like, we could pick a pink violin and try to calm them."

"I heard that music helps to calm people, but are you sure it's gonna work?" Beth asked, scratching her head, "And why pink?"

"Because everything gets better with pink," the blond said, clasping her hands and smiling, and she went look for a pink violin.

Outside, Gwen was walking to the hotel, taking advantage to see the night. If she brought her sketch pad, she would be drawing a picture of the square.

"Nice night, isn't it, Gwen?" a voice called her from behind.

She turned and said "Duncan!" The punk was grinning at her, "Harold said you already was here."

"Better impossible," he said, nonchalant, "Say, what are planning for tonight."

"Nothing, why?"

"Homeschooled said you had a scythe."

"Ah, I got one in Halloween Town, she's not bad to kill Heartless."

"It's because I want to check her personally," he said, unsheathing his sword.

"Duncan, I'm not in the mood to play games with you," she crossed her arms, frowning.

"Hey, it's fun," and he advanced at her. Gwen summoned her scythe and blocked the attack in time, "Okay," she grinned, "Let's play your little game," and, with a swing, she repelled Duncan. The punk fell on his feet, not bothering with the little damage he received, "That's what I'm talking about!" And he charged at Gwen, smiting his sword. The goth girl blocked the hits effortlessly and counterattacked, but Duncan crouched and avoided and gave her a low kick, she fell down.

"Why do I have to put with cheaters?" she complained, rolling over and getting up.

"That's pragmatism," he protested.

"I'm surprised that you know big words."

"Seriously, I'm a genius," he said, as he swung his sword against her. They clashed blade against blade, metal sparkled. "And I have a few tricks under the sleeve." After taking distance from Gwen, he picked his lighter and held his sword over the fire. Flames engulfed the blade, but they just remained there, not affecting anything beyond the hilt. Duncan swung smugly the fire-sword and taunted, "What do you think, Gwen?" as he charged against her.

"How do you do that?" the goth girl blocked, jumping backwards, knowing that where there's smoke, they pinch-I mean, there's fire. The punk advance one more time, and she blocked again, she was in a pretty defensive situation.

"I have my methods," and he cackled while swinging the fire blade against her, advancing as she retreated.

At the restaurant, Sadie was still ranting and Ezekiel was patiently listening, "... And then, when Katie and I were in the mall, and the ice cream fell to the ground, making a whole mess of ice cream and... and SADNESS! Booo-hooo-hooo!" Ezekiel tried to say something, but the girl didn't let him, she wasn't going to stop sobbing so soon, "Can you understand? The sadness tasted like cream, but rotten cream of ice cream, this was the taste of shame, why did I dropped the ice cream, why?"

Then, Lindsay showed up, bringing a pink violin. She made an improvised stage, with a wooden box, and called the attention of everyone, "Well, umm, this music is dedicated to everyone who lose their homes. Let's hope for better days." Everyone was paying attention to her, some people paying too much attention, but everyone was waiting her to start, even Sadie stopped to rant and directed her attention to her. With a smile, she breathed deeply and closed her eyes, moving the bow against the strings, creating the melody.

The violin, in the right hands, can produced some of the most beautiful songs ever heard, but those weren't right hands; they were WRONG hands (as Justin put later)! A harsh and mettalic sound was heard through by the entire district. People started to take their hands to their ears, to block the awfully ungodly song that came from Lindsay's pink violin. Some customers tried to evacuate the restaurant, but the mess was already made, and lots of dishes started to fly, tables were turned upside down, and there was so much confusion. The Magikarps that Space Ghost had bought were also startled and this made them evolve to Gyarados. The blue dragon Pokémon were confused and started to wreak havoc all over the district.

"Now, I got'cha," Duncan said, lifting his flaming sword. Gwen was cornered and had no means to counterattack.

"Duncan, wait..." before Gwen could say more, Duncan tried to deliver the blow, but he was stopped by a Hydro Pump, launched randomly by a nearby Gyarados. The punk was soaked entirely and his flame died over. Taking advantage, Gwen swung her scythe, holding with one hand, making a complete turn, hitting him in the lower parts. Duncan was launched against a wall, defeated.

"Okay, this was fun," but she also saw Duncan's trunks at the edge of her scythe. When she looked at Duncan, she started to laugh madly: Duncan was wearing a pink underwear.

Duncan got up, still a bit dizzy, and picked his trunks, "What are you laughing at? Geoff lent this for me! My underwear was still washing!"

"This is so funny."

"Please, don't tell anyone," the punk begged.

"Are you afraid people will laugh at you?"

"Actually, it's because I would have to explain everything, and then people will ask question, and I'll have to answer, I don't want to get concerned with this."

"As you wish," and she ended with a laugh.

After all the confusion, Heather returned through the first district and saw the entire mess. She also had a new summon, a sabertooth-tiger named Diego.

"Gawrsh! What happened?" Goofy asked, staring at the destruction.

"None of our business," Heather replied, looking at some Gyarados beating up the crap out of Space Ghost, but since it was Space Ghost, she didn't care, "Never mind, I'll get some sleep."

At the restaurant, Ezekiel and Sadie were hiding under a table, "I think it ended, eh."

"Well, well, nobody is here anymore."

"I guess our date is over," he said, eyeing the exit, "Thank you," and he got up.

"Wait, Ezekiel," Sadie called. He was surprised that someone finally got his name right, and turned to hear her. "I must say I'm very grateful, because you stayed here with me, listening to all my rants. Thank you very much, Ezekiel." She gave him a kiss on his cheek and kept talking, "Nobody would do this, only Katie."

"Sadie, Katie will return someday, if what they said is truth" he said, "But I think you should be yourself, you and me can't be Katie," and he finally left. Sadie was still there, thinking about what Ezekiel said.

Lindsay was still there, playing the violin, oblivious to the fact that the string had already been cut off.

"Lindsay, it's over," Beth said, poking her, "Everyone has already left."

Lindsay opened her eyes and saw nobody but Beth, "Ow, where's everyone?"

"Well," the farmer girl said, glancing aside, "It's time to close, so everyone left."

"I see, did they like?"

"Um," she didn't want to lie but also didn't want to tell the truth, so she changed the topic, "I think there's a sale in the third district."

"Really?" the blonde beamed, "Let's go!"

And so the events of the night ended. In the next morning, people were rebuilding the first district. The Gyarados calmed down, were captured and shipped to their homeworld, Space Ghost was imprisioned for smuggling foreign species ("I was framed!" he declared as he was taken by the police) and Zorak and Moltar were laughing loudly at his misfortune. The police also gave a judicial order forbidding Lindsay to be at least fifty meters from any violin.

Heather, Harold, Donald and Goofy went to the X-Men's base, where they could talk with Professor Xavier. There, Wolverine was in a training session, slashing through some target, and Scott was also training his aim. Rogue and Kitty welcome Heather's group.

"Ah, it's you," Rogue said with a bland tone.

"Welcome, prof. Xavier wants to talk with you," Kitty said, cheerful.

"Better be good, I have to wake up earlier today," Heather complained, haughty.

"I like prof. X," Harold added, "He's a pretty cool guy."

The professor was waiting for the Keyblade wielder and her allies. He had a serious expression, clasping his hands under his nose. "Welcome, Heather, Harold, Donald, Goofy."

"So, what's the deal with the reports?" Heather asked.

"All those reports deals with things like the nature of the heart, the Heartless, how he opened the Pandora's Box and the encounter with your King," Prof. Xavier said, serious, "But it's still missing something. I just had read the first, and it was a long time, and it's different from the report Magneto had shown me, that one cited his apprentice. Something wrong is going on, and I can't even use my powers to help."

"So..." Heather said, skeptical.

"Sorry, Heather," Prof. Xavier said, concerned, "This situation reminds me from a verse, from an ancient book, 'The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure', and I believe that this is another indication of how Magneto's heart was deceived, and we must take care to not let us being deceived too." Heather just rolled her eyes, and considered the talk a waste of time, and left to prepare to their new destination.

Before they depart, the former campers gave them words of encouragement, "Be careful," Sadie said, she was happier than usual. She was missing Katie, but also she was more confident, she knew she had friends to support her, like Beth, Lindsay and Ezekiel.

"Do they have malls where they're going?" Lindsay wondered.

"Lindsay, I heard that you're a great detective," she replied, with a plastified smile, "So why don't you go and try to discover who killed the Dead Sea?"

"Oooh, that can be my next case," Lindsay said, picking a Sherloch Holmes-like hat and magnifying glass, "Come Beth, we have a case to close." Her friend preferred to agree with her, and followed her, treating like children's play.

"All the modifications are done, the royal gummi ship is as good as new," Dexter said, he was with her sister.

"Wait, you're the crazy girl from the hotel," Heather said.

"Ignore her," the boy genius said, glancing at her, annoyed, "It's just my stupid sister Dee Dee."

"Ooooh, it's the girl with a wig!" Dee Dee said, taking a good look at Heather's wig.

"Buzz off!" Heather retorted, angry and holding her wig with her hands.

"Go for it, Dee Dee!" Gwen encouraged, trying to mock Heather.

"Well, everything is order, a-hyuck," Goofy said, "We have supplies, fuel, the navigation gummi has autonomy up to this direction," he tapped his chin, "Donald, do you know where is here?"

"I don't know, it's in an uncharted place," the wizard-pilot looked at location in the map; it was beyond the Glade of Dreams.

"But I know," Chris MacLean said, popping up behind everyone, startling more than one person. "Remember when I said that would be your final test, Heather?" he nudged the queen bee. She just grunted something and crossed her arms, "That's why," Chris continued, "Because the world where are you going is," Chef beat the drums dramatically, "Hollow Bastion!" There was a collective gasp, but then Harold asked, "What is Hollow Bastion?"

"Ah, it used to be a world, whose name I forgot, well not my business, so it's where Maleficent lives, and that means she's waiting for you!"

"I think Captain Razorbeard said Bayville," Harold ammended and the reply was a slightly miffed "Yeah, whatever," from the host.

"But how does she know I'm coming?" Heather asked, feeling frustrated.

"What?" Chris asked, surprised, "You've been going to a bunch of worlds, holding a big key, and killing a lot of Heartless, did you really expect go unnoticed?"

"So, now I just have to kick the old witch's butt and then everything will end, right?"

"Of course!" Chris said, happily throwing his arms to the air, but immediately made a serious expression, "Or is it? Anyway, the ratings will pump up, so I'll mount a live stream to Traverse Town's plaza."

"Yeah, that's outta be good!" Duncan grinned.

"Let's bring soda and popcorn!" Geoff cheered, pumping his fists, "Thanks, guy!" giving a hive-five to Chris.

"So, guys, spread the news, today is going to be fabulous!" Chris announced and, along with Chef, went to the plaza to assemble the transmission station.

"Hollow Bastion, huh?" Dexter mused and warned them, "It's better you be careful, not even my glorious intellect could save my world from the Heartless. Let's go, Dee Dee!" and they left the place.

The gummi ship was put in order and finally took off. In the space, Donald quickly teleported to nearby Glade of Dreams, where they could go to Hollow Bastion. During the trip between the two worlds, they weren't attacked by any enemy ship.

"This is so strange," said Harold at his battlestation, "There's nothing out there."

"It's too quiet," Donal said, looking at the radar. Only asteroids and the empty space were seen.

"It's too fishy, to tell truth," Heather said, looking at the window.

After some time drifting through the silent space, the radar started to blimp. It was a medium-size Heartless fleet, consisting of some fighters, bombers and a cruiser, a bigger ship, roughly the size of a big asteroid.

"There they are, everyone at your position," Donald ordered, Harold and Goofy were ready to fire the trigger, but they waited. The Heartless fleet also didn't attack. Instead of, they turned around and retreated.

"Strange, why don't they attack us?" Harold asked, without expecting an answer. After the enemy fleet completed their retreat, they had visual contact with the world they were heading. While they were retreating, they informed Maleficent that the royal gummi ship was approaching.

"LeShawna," the mistress of all evil called her out, "Come here!"

"Yes, milady," she bowed.

"The Keyblade wielder will arrive soon, and so the castaway," she said, lifting her arms to the air, while holding her staff, "And the truth shall be decided! Go forth and make your destin real!"

"With pleasure, milady, I'll prepare the welcome comittee," and she left the room. Maleficent grinned evilly and looked at the seven princess of the heart.

"So, this is Hollow Bastion, huh?" Heather commented. Donald flew over the world, to have a better view. There was a medium-sized city, but the radars were appointing that there wasn't a single living person there. It was abandoned, but still intact. The sight that really impressed them was a big flying castle far from the city, where there were faint living readings. The instruments were also pointing that the keyhole was inside the castle. The castle was a very strange one, it had seven towers, and a big Heartless emblem in the central tower. A rocky formation was under the castle, where the water was flowing to the upside, provinding water for the building.

"Now that's something I've never seen before," Goofy commented.

"They are rising falls?" Harold asked, shocked with the sight.

"Let's stop by here, it won't attract the attention of the baddies," Donald said, "Chip, Dale, take of the ship."

"Roger!" they both agreed.

In the castle, LeShawna was descending the stairs and, in the way, she found DJ.

"Hi, LeShawna, I made a soup," he merrily greeted.

"Don't have time!" she replied in a dead serious tone, not even bothering to look at him.

"LeShawna," Sierra also stepped by, "Did you see Noah? I didn't see him for the entire day."

"No wonder why," she replied the same way she did to DJ.

"Geez, what's happening to her today?" Sierra asked DJ, raising her eyebrow and putting her hands on her hips, "Or even since the last weeks."

"Let's follow her, perhaps something will happen," he shook his hands, and decided to follow her.

The gummi ship dropped them in a point next to the rising falls. Heather took a second look at the place, the rising falls, the big floating castle, the floating blueish rocks, everything seemed so strange, so violating the laws of physics, but the oddest thing for Heather is that everything seemed so... familiar.

"I have the feeling I know this place," Heather stated, "I've been here before."

"Hmm, that's strange," Goofy said.

"I wonder why," she tapped her chest, "I feel this warmth inside, right here."

"Aw, you're just serious," Donald replied, impatient.

"Heather, you're having a déja vù," Harold said, "A déja vù is like a hiccup of the mind."

"Whatever," she said, slapping the back of his head.

The group climbed the floating rocks, jumping with care, because one wrong step and they would end slamming against the water, which had the consistency of glass, as Harold discovered.

Platform by platform, until reach a particular one. That platform was different from the others, because they could see some greek pillars and had the shape of a rectangle. They also heard two persons talking, and they recognized the voice of one, a feminine and proud one.

"No vessel, no help from the Heartless," they heard from the last rock before the platform, "So tell me, how'd ya get here?"

"It's LeShawna!" Harold said, "C'mon, no time to lose," he said, accelerating his pace.

"I simply believed. Nothing more than it," the other voice was a deep one, it resembled to them that a lion was speaking, "When our world fell into darkness, Belle was taken from me. I vowed I would find her again no matter what the cost," at that point, Heather and her group finally got to the platform. Looking by the new angle, the platform also had puddle in the center, surrounding by grass. They also saw LeShawna holding her sword, talking to a beast. The beast had brown and was taller and more muscular than everyone, even DJ; he had the structure of bipedial lion and had horns, and was wearing a purple cape. DJ and Sierra were also there, watching at distance, "I believed I would find her. So, here I am. She must be here. I will have her back!" The beast growled after finishing his speech.

"Take her, if you can," LeShawna took offensive stance and prepared to fight. The beast jumped at her, everyone looked shocked at LeShawna, since she was smaller than the beast, they thought she would be no match for him. But what actually happened was quite the contrary. In one blow, the girl slashed the beast and sent him to the other side of the platform. The beast fell down, defeated, but not uncounscious. She looked at him and started to walk, perhaps to deliver the mercy shot, but Heather stopped.

"Cough, cough," she forced a cough to call attention, "Nice day, LeShabby."

LeShawna looked at her and, still with a serious voice, she said, "Ah, I was waiting for you Heather."

"O-M-G!" Sierra said, almost squealing, "It's Heather and Harold, the H-bombs! With two sidekicks whose name I don't know, but I'll know in no time!"

"See, I told you something would happen," DJ added.

"LeShawna," Harold said, running to her, "I was so worried," he bowed and kissed her hand, "But you're fine, thank God!"

"Yes, sugar, yes," she replied, but in a cold tone, "But I have issues to deal with mrs. Better-than-thou."

"What do you want?" Heather asked, in a bored tone.

"So you two are Donald and Goofy," the purple-haired girl said, excited, "And you've been running with Heather and Harold, saving a bunch of worlds from the Heartless."

"That's correct," Donald said, rubbing his head.

"EEEEE, I can't wait to post this in my blog, when I get internet!" and she asked Heather, "Please, let me the Keyblade."

Heather grunted, but summoned the weapon. LeShawna's frown softened.

"Heather, we've always been rivals, since the day we met," LeShawna smirked, remembering from the time when she threw Heather in the cliff, in the first day at Wawanakwa.

Heather just scowled, and replied, "At least I finished in a better position than you."

"True, but I learn some tricks from you, 'keep your friends close and your enemies closer'," she chuckled, "That helped me in that fiasco called Total Drama Action," and she continued walking carefree, "Always pulling pranks at each other, fighting for the supremacy, I even started to like you," she said remembering from the time she became friends with her.

"What is your point?" Heather asked, starting to get impatient.

"I'm saying that everything ends here, there can't be two Keyblade masters."

"What?"

"Let the Keyblade choose," LeShawna said, emphatically lifting her palm, "Its true master!"

The Keyblade in Heather's hand disappeared and reappeared at LeShawna's hand. Donald, Goofy and Harold only exclaimed and Heather stared at her hand in utter shock, "H-h-how? But that's impossible!" she said, in total disbelief, "I did everything, it was me who defeated all those monsters, it was me who sealed all those keyholes, it was me who did all the dirty job," she glared at LeShawna, "You! What do you do?"

LeShawna didn't even bother to rise her voice, "You were just the delivery girl, a mere servant."

"I'll show you!" the former Keyblade wielder said, angrily rushing to her, but, in a stroke of bad luck, she tripped and fell in the puddle, making a big splash. She stood on her hands, her wig completely disarranged in her head, soaked and refused to look at LeShawna, using all her strength to force back her tears.

"Sorry if your part is over," LeShawna replied, unfazed, "Here, go play hero with this," and she tossed a wooden sword, the same type she used when they fought at the movie lot, "Oh, wait, you're not a hero, just a selfish person who just happens to have a weapon of a hero. That's why the Keyblade didn't accept you, but me, I think in the others and I will save Izzy, and everyone." And she coldly walked away.

"LeShawna, wait for me!" Harold said, running after her, abandoning Heather.

"Goofy, let's go," Donald said, "We have to follow our mission."

"Oh! Well," Goofy uttered, surprised, "I know the king told us to follow the key and all..."

"Go away," Heather muttered, in a baffled voice.

"Heather, but," the captain tried to say something, but was interrupted by Heather.

"I SAID GO AWAY!" Heather yelled, angered and frustrated.

"Heather, sorry," Donald tried to apologize, but it didn't work.

"I DON'T NEED YOUR PITY!" she yelled again. Donald gulped and the two servants of the kings walked away, going to the castle, but not without a bit of guilty in their hearts.

"So, Heather wasn't the real Keyblade wielder," Sierra mused with herself, "What a twist," and she also let her, along with DJ. He glanced at her, feeling compassion at her. She was using all her forces to not cry, she was too proud to let herself cry at such a situation, although her face was soaked, there were few tears coming out from her eyes, but she didn't let anyone see.

At Traverse Town, everyone was watching in the improvised screen, courtesy by Chris MacLean, some feeling compassion for her, other not.

"Why am I not surprised?" Rogue rhetorically asked.

"Serious," complained Duncan, while holding a bag of popcorn, "What is this? A soap opera?"

"Hey, at least we have quality popcorn," Geoff said, trying to view the things from the best poinf of view.

"See, I told everyone that she wasn't the chosen one," Gwen also complained, "But nobody believed in me, hmph."

"Actually," Justin intervened, "You didn't tell anybody."

"And do I need to tell? This should be a foregone conclusion!"

"Well, I thought that Heather was changing," Beth commented, "But I guess it didn't matter. Looking for the killer of the Dead Sea was way better than this."

"I feel bad for her," Sadie commented.

"Me too," Kitty said, "I don't think she's totally evil."

"Hmm, there must be something wrong," Prof. Xavier mused, "I mean, this doesn't make sense, I think I must check my notes."

"So, that's how it ends, MacLean?" Kurt asked. Some people started to go away, return to their houses, with more questions than answers.

"We're producing Total Drama Worlds, not something from Gainax!" Chris argued, indignant and added in a low voice, "Did the King know this would happen? Oh, the ratings, I feel sick." Chef shrugged and pressed the credits button. The screen faded away from the weeping Heather and cued the credits, with _Thanatos: If I can't be yours _as background music.

Directed by

CHRIS MACLEAN

Produced by

CHRIS MACLEAN

After lots of "By MacLean", in very tiny typos, we have the following message "With the help of Chef Hatchet, Gary, Stu, Billy, Emily, Zork the Cat, Daniel McDouglans, Zvetlana McDouglans, Jurusmela the Emu, Bruno the Bear, the Motion Picture Association of DisneyWorld and Ted."

**THE END**


	33. The Cord of Three Strands

**A.N.: **I'd publish this chapter earlier, but I was busy watching Code Geass. Anyway, I also I'm putting here the end note of the last chapter, because it wouldn't be good if I put the end note there: since the events of Celebrity Manhunt special didn't happen, Duncan and Courtney are still a couple, but I don't know if they will be a couple when the story ends, probably not (D/C didn't sink at London, but way before...), also Duncan and Gwen won't be a couple. Fans of Evangelion probably noticed the influence (I heard _rumors _that KH3 will use elements from NGE, so prepare yourselves for mind screws).

Also I saw that my fic was recommended in TVTropes, that's quite an achievement, because it's the first multi-chapter story I write in my life, and I see some problems in other chapter, but it's good to see that my fic was good enough, I'll try harder from now on.

* * *

"What was the purpose of everything?" Heather sobbed, thinking aloud, "Stupid Keyblade, to the hell with it! I hate them! I hate everyone!"

"Heather," DJ came next to her, concerned with her, "Calm down, please!"

"What do you _want_?" she asked, in a harsh and embittered tone, refusing to lift her head, "You come to mock me? Go forth, you filthy scum!"

"Heather," the gentle jock tried to argue with her, being nice. It was an awful sight seeing her, the haughty queen bee humiliated, refusing to let go her feelings. Even if she was evil, nasty, deceptive, a villain, in the most manipulative sense, she was just a teenager, just like him, what was she thinking? He didn't know of her story, and just had overhead the little that Donald and Goofy talked with Sierra, but it must have happened something that had a powerful effect on Heather, to make her cry like this.

He tried to pat her shoulder, but she forcefully shoved his hand away, finally lifting her head; she glared at him, her face was soaked, there was no difference between tears and the water of the puddle, her eyes were slightly red, and she was gritting her teeth. DJ gulped, taken back as Heather said, in a menacing tone, "Don't _dare_ pity me!" She kept glaring at him, with her breathing slenderly accelerated.

She finally got up, slowly. Her fists were clenched and she turned her back to DJ, who asked, "Where are you going, Heather?"

"I'm going to wait for a Heartless to eat my heart," she replied, "This f-," DJ instinctively and almost instantaneously placed his hands to his ears, to not hear the word, "journey ended here, didn't you hear LeShawna, DID YOU?"

"Heather, don't be so harsh with yourself," DJ tried to calmly argue (he was also being very courageous, to tell the truth), "No matter what's the problem, I will hear you."

"My problem..." she turned and walked to DJ, still glaring, grabbing him by the collar, yelling, "SO, DO YOU WANT TO KNOW MY PROBLEM? I'M GONNA TELL MY PROBLEM!" she screamed at his ears, even spitting saliva on his face, not caring about, "IT'S THE PROBLEM WITH THE WORLD, THAT'S LAUGHING AT ME RIGHT NOW, THINKING HOW BAD WE CAN BREAK HEATHER ONLY TO AMUSE THEM!" And she tossed him away, but he didn't fall, only took two steps back.

"But, Heather, look at everything you did," DJ begged, "You helped a lot of people, saved entire worlds from certain destruction."

"What's the point of everything? Every nice thing I did?" she turned her back to DJ and kept talking, still harshly, clenching her fists and looking down, "Nobody is nice in this world, everyone is just trying to satisfy their own desires. I was starting to believe otherwise, recovering my faith in humanity, but it's all a worthless effort. I did right things, but in the end, they were all worthless. Right, wrong, there's no difference, everything will end by the same way, eaten by the Heartless..." she trailed off, holding her cry back.

"Heather..."

"You don't understand," she replied after some seconds, faintly, without turning to him, "I gave everything for a bunch of losers..."

"Well," he rubbed the back of his head, "You still have your life. And your friends."

"Didn't you see them abandoning me when LeShawna came?" Heather let a single sob escape, "What kind of friends are them?" she let other sob escape, "I had friends like them once, being nice with you one day and then bullying you at other," she was shaking, remembering from a harsh childhood memory.

"But, Heather, I'm sure they're just confused, they didn't seem evil," DJ said, trying to cheer her up, "You're the good guy here, you must be a hero," he mentally added "sort of."

"Isn't LeShawna the good guy here?" she retorted.

"To say, LeShawna's been acting strangely these days," he said, in a slightly wearier tone, "When I met her, she wasn't so cold..."

FLASHBACK

DJ was lost, in a world covered in green forests, a true green hell. He woke up, after he felt a pebble hitting his head, with all his body, save his head, covered in silk, tied upside down in a tree. The first thing he did when he woke up was the obvious one: he panicked like a little girl. But, of course, this was an understatement, compared to his reaction when he saw a giant crawler coming at his direction. As he completely lost it, the crawler approached, moving his mandibles, filled with saliva. "Why does the monster have to eat the prey while he's awake?" DJ closed tightly his eyes and clenched his teeth together, since he already had became without voice, and that would be his end, if he hadn't seen LeShawna delivering a jumping kick at the crawler.

"LeShawna," he said, gruffing.

"Yo, Deej, looks like I came in the right hour," she said, evading a tail attack from the giant bug. The bug tried to bite her, but she shoved away with her sword. The bug tried again, but LeShawna made a transverse cut at its abdomen. Feeling the loss of blood fluids, the crawler quickly ran away. That wouldn't matter anyway.

"You're fine now," she said, as she cut the silk cocoon, "Maleficent was right." He got up with some difficulty, due to the lack of exercise and the shock.

"Ow, geez," he said, using the tree as support, "What happened, where's everyone?"

"First, let's get from here," she said, summoning a dark portal.

"Are you sure it's safe?"

"Of course."

In Maleficent's Castle, Fortress Intolerance, the mistress of all evil was walking around DJ. The poor guy was terrified, but LeShawna seemed confident, because it was her who told LeShawna where he was. What the girl didn't know was that the Heartless were devouring that forest world at that moment.

"Tell me, my apprentice," she said, with a bland and uninterested voice, "Why should I let him stay in my castle."

"Well," she replied, cheerful, "He makes scrumptious dishes, and that's reason enough," she ended patting his shoulder.

"Very well," and she let him, but that seemed too easy.

"_Great," Heather said, sarcastically, "LeShawna saves the day."_

"_Wait, I didn't finish."_

After some time, LeShawna rescued Noah, from a marine world. When Maleficent asked why she should let him stay on her castle, her reply was different; "I... well, he doesn't hurt, I don't know," she seemed more distressed this time, like she didn't care so much with him. He just shrugged.

And then, LeShawna rescued Sierra. When Maleficent asked why, LeShawna just replied, "Sighs... Just don't get rid of her, okay?" she didn't have much sympathy for her. Maleficent just grinned, as her apprentice left her.

END FLASHBACK

"That girl is completely nuts, didn't you notice?" she turned to her and asked again, changing her tone to a neutral one, "And where do you want to go with all this thing?"

"The point is I think that Maleficent is up to something, she's not nice, that's something for sure. And she's been using LeShawna for her own purposes."

"Professor Bald said that Maleficent is a witch, and that she's controlling the Heartless... Did you see any Heartless here?"

"Everyday, but LeShawna, when I came here, said that she gave orders to not attack us, but I don't even dare to get close to them. But that means that the Heartless may attack us now."

"So, Maleficent probably will transform LeShawna, Donald, Harold and Goofy into Heartless, give me one reason to save them," she still didn't care or, perhaps, was she just pretending?

"I don't think you'll let this happen because I don't believe this' what your heart wants," he quickly replied and continued, "You changed, Heather, the Heather I knew probably wouldn't care about, probably would think that it'd be a great thing being ditched by that Keyblade thing, after all, now you don't need to save the day anymore and you did nice stuff because you wanted to." The jock dared to say some truths, and so braced himself, waiting for another harsh reply, but the queen bee didn't reply, she just stood there, idle, looking down, thinking. Perhaps it was them who were blind now, or, at least, with difficulty to discern light from the darkness. What about herself? Would she be wandering in a Heartless-infested place only to warn them that something fishy was going on? And more important, did she have anything else to do? She stared at her hero license that Hercules personally gave to her.

"I came this far only to be rejected?" Heather mused, and turned to DJ, and looked at him; though she was still frowning, she had a better attitude, "No! Effing! Way!" He smiled. Even if that wasn't her real motive, it didn't matter.

"You're right, DJ," she said, cleaning her face, "I know how this started and it can't end here, there's something left to be done," she said, adjusting her wig, "I may not have the Keyblade, but I still have my wig, and I know I can use magic," she leaned to pick the wooden sword, "I guess to have a crappy sword is better than to have any. Let's show them what I can do!" In the end, she just needed a nudge to help her to get out from her funk.

"You have... attitude, girl," the beast said, with some difficulty. DJ quickly gave him a potion, and he got up, with his health fully restored.

"So, are you going to help me?" Heather asked, placing her hands on her hips.

"I came to fight for Belle. And though I came here on my own, I will fight. I won't leave without her. That's why I'm here," and the beast roared, "You may call me Beast."

"I don't know why I am here, but I have the feeling I'm going to discover soon," she said, brandishing her wooden sword, "So let's go, and DJ," she looked at him, not smiling, but still with gratitude, "Thank you."

"We must take the lift to Fortress Intolerance," that was the name of that castle, a suggestive one. When the lift arrived on the farthest rock, they were teleported inside the gondola and arrived at the gates of the castle.

The gates of castle were an interesting sight. From upside, they could see the way that lead to basement of the castle, and the lift for the area was at the minor gate right next to entrance. In the end of the short corridor there was the entrance door to the castle.

"They're close," Beast said, after sniffing. DJ became concerned and Heather held tightly her sword. At that moment, the enemy appeared; some Shadows and new one, the Darkball, a rounded creepy manifestation of darkness, whose most frightening characteristics were the always present glowing eyes and the slasher smile.

"Better we save for later," she said, as they ran through the enemies, zigzagging to confound them or using Beast's paws to make a way. They reached the door in no time, but it was locked.

"Now what do we do?" Heather said, slamming the hilt of the sword against the lock.

"It's locked from inside," DJ replied, "We must go to the basement, if we want to open from the outside, there's a secondary command control there."

"Great..." she said, as she fried an incoming Darkball.

They ran to the basement gate, which Beast opened using his might. There, some Red Nocturnes and another new type of Heartless, the Defender, a huge one with a living shield, with the face of a lion that could shoot fire and ice projectiles, appeared.

"Oh, that can't be good," DJ stared at the huge enemy and started to tremble.

"Ignore," she ordered. They weren't blocking the path so the three people passed through them, mostly ignoring the projectiles launched against them. Heather hit a weird shimmering red crystal, supposing that must be important, and the lift appeared and teleported them to the lower level.

"Now, where are we going?" Heather asked, after they arrived at the basement area. It wasn't a mostly sympathetic area; they could see the right flank of the castle from there; there were rocky stacks coming from the crystalized lake, and two bubbles floating over the lake, one higher than other.

"We must go to the basement," DJ reaffirmed, "Now, we have to see the right way."

"LeShawna didn't tell you, did she?"

"She just mentioned the secondary control, she didn't show the way to us."

"Dammit!" she cursed, but the situation got even worse; Heartless started to emerge from the ground, some Darkballs, a Defender and a new type, the Wizard, a Heartless specialized in magical attacks, capable of summoning black magic against its enemies. They were also immune to magic as Heather discovered when she tried to cast Thunder against them.

Heather groaned, as the Heartless closed in, but Beast said, "Step aside," and, using his Ferocious Lunge technique, charging forcefully against all the enemies at his front, swatting and thrashing them to last scrap of darkness. Only the Defender remained; it tried to attack with its biting shield, but Beast grabbed by its jaw, with both hands, and swirled two times before knocking against a wall. The enemy wasn't defeated, as it roared, but a falling rock killed it. A heart floated out and it disappeared.

"Very good," Heather thanked. But, another group of Darkballs appeared. Heather pointed her sword against them and cast Fira and Blizarra spells. One of them counterattacked by the flank, biting her. Heather tried to stab with the wooden sword, but it had no effect, the enemy still clung to her. Beast was also occupied with Shadows and Wizards over a corner and DJ was taken back, clinging his nails; there was nothing he could do, no weapon, no magic, only being the one who tags along and tries to avoid being an interference, staying at a safe distance.

Seeing more Darkballs incoming, Heather said, "Time to swallow the pride," with one hand, she lifted the sword and cried, "Stop!" Some symbols, resembling number in Roman and time appeared over her head and immediately all enemies had frozen. Beast didn't notice and kept smashing the enemies around him. Heather pointed the sword against them and cast Fira on the Darkballs surrounding her. After a few seconds, the effect of the magic ended and the enemy Heartless contorted a bit and faded out. The Stop magic made all other attacks to deal retarded damaged.

"Perhaps we can breath a bit now," she commented and added under her breath, grumpy "I guess I owe something to Gwenny now..."

"Hmm, Heather, sorry I can't be useful," DJ said, embarrassed.

"Yeah, you're pretty much useless," she agreed. A Shadow tried to jump at DJ's back, but Beast slashed it away.

"Be careful, kid," he said. DJ didn't even notice the menace.

"Thanks," he gulped, shivering.

"Sighs... it's better we don't split up, and let's find a way to the basement," Heather ordered in a bored tone. "Why don't we check those giant floating bubbles, they must have something to do with this asylum."

Heather walked to one of them, the most next to the floor, and touched it. She was teleported inside the bubble and tiny bubble came out, going through the lake. Beast and DJ did the same and followed her.

The bubbles made it to the basement. An ill-iluminated and humid series of corridor, which the secondary control was certainly at the end of it.

"This is not gonna be good to my make-up," Heather complained. DJ was shivering in fear, he knew that anytime a Heartless could pop up out of the blue, and it could quickly consume their hearts if they weren't careful. In a murky place like that, it could happen soon, and there was nothing he could do, so he started to cold sweat and breathing heavily.

Heather, noticing that DJ would faint anytime, grabbed his hand and, without looking at him, said "You were my light, DJ... now it's my turn to be yours." This relieved DJ, and he stopped to shiver. Heather then added, feeling a bit exposed, "Don't get wrong ideas, it would be bad for Beast to carry you at this point. I am the leader and I order you to not faint."

"Y-yes, Heather," DJ replied, unsure.

"Leave it to me," she replied.

Heather quickly pointed her sword against a lurking Darkball and cast Blizzara two times, quickly defeating it, she was still as offensive as if she had the Keyblade. DJ, on the other hand, helped giving potions and ethers to Heather and Beast. It was a rather odd habit of him, since he arrived at Fortress Intolerance, to never leave his room without any medicine supply, but now it was his way to be useful. Heather, in spite of everything, proved to be some kind of an emotional anchor to DJ, during the walk by the murky basement (which, they discovered, also acted as the sewer of the castle), in other words, he probably would panic and start to run aimlessly, until being stopped by a famished Heartless or worse.

Beast was the most coolheaded between them. He was paying strict attention to the surroundings, like a always alert hunter, using his heightened senses. When they finally reached a dead end, Heather just muttered a weary "crap", but Beast effortlessly smashed the wall, allowing them to continue their path.

The Keyblade wielder, on the other hand, was trying to focus on the way, trying to dismiss the vortex of thoughts that was inside her mind. _What was the purpose of everything? Harold, Donald, Goofy, how are you doing now? Ugh! This is so complicated... mom, where are you when I need?_Ocasionally a Heartless or a small group would appear and she would take the opportunity to distract herself, but, after that, the thoughts returned.

"Are you okay, Heather?" the gentle jock asked, noticing her discomfort. She didn't reply. "Thinking about them?"

She sighed, "They were always with me and, even if I hate to admit, I think they fulfilled their own spots," she then slapped the back of DJ's head and sighed.

"Ouch! What was that for?"

"It's not the same thing..."

"Well, they're your friends, it's natural," DJ said, rubbing the back of his head, "Or you didn't know, did you?"

Heather had lots of lackeys, since it was normal that the most popular kids in her school to have lots of sycophants, always offering superficial praise. Those who refused to bow down to her, were ignored and turned into some sort of social castaway. She was pretty aware about how superficial everything was, but she didn't care until now. But friends? In such a place everyone was or wanted to be her friend, since she was popular, she had the power. The past tense is a key element in the preceding sentence. _What is the meaning of a true friend?_ That was a question she thought as she tried to solve the puzzle in the basement. Every time she pushed a button, a gate moved, changing the configuration of the room. No Heartless appeared and Beast wasn't feeling any other presence, so it was just a matter of pressing the buttons until the way eventually open.

Heather recalled all the adventures she had with them. Proving the innocence of Muriel in Nowhere; the chase in the jungle and the dirigible in Amazonian Plateau; the near-death experience and saving in Traverse Town; the rescue of Fiona in Far Far Away; the retrieval of Pinnocchio in Monstro; the underwater adventure in Atlantica; the passage in Halloween Town; the escape in the Glade of Dreams; the playtime in Muncie; and all the battles in Coliseum. As she recalled, she stopped to think that she changed, even if she was unwilling to, in the beginning. In her life, she had experienced doing evil and good stuff, never alone. _With Harold, Donald and Goofy everything seemed tasty, in spite of everything_, she thought. _To say the truth, I'm not doing things for myself anymore_. In fact, she started the journey thinking only in herself, but in her actual state, she knew she wasn't doing this, walking in a basement/sewer, only to serve herself.

After finally clearing the way, they jumped in a bubble, which brought them to another room. A switch fixed on a wall made of tubes was being guarded by a single defender. Heather quickly used Stop and Gravira, and Beast finished with his Ferocious Lunge technique, defeating the enemy. After he was finished, many Shadows and Darkballs appeared in the room, but now they in a closed area, surrounded by the enemies.

"Don't move," Heather lifted her wooden sword and cried, "Ars Arcanum!" she started to float over the air, encircled by various ancient symbols, with a great mass of energy accumulating in the edge of the wooden blade, and the energy was fired in beams, hitting all the enemies of the room, eliminating all of them.

"It must be the secondary control," DJ said.

"It must be obvious it's the secondary control," Heather added, impatient. She pressed the button and heard a distant 'click'. "Now we have to walk our way back through this abject sewer," she murmured.

"I don't think so," Beast said, looking to a green, glowing crystal in the other corner of the room. When they touched the crystal, a lift appeared, teleporting them to the gates of the castle, to the initial point.

There were no Heartless blocking their way, so they went to the entrance door without problems. The first thing Beast said when they entered at the hall was, "They're close, I can feel it," looking to both sides, "Are you ready for them?" The entrance hall was iluminated by a single big chandelier and other torches in the laterals. There was a fountain in the center, and two equal stairs leading upside. They could feel a dark presence permeating the area, some kind of dark invisible force interfering with the environment.

A door opened spontaneously.

"Belle?" Beast roared, when she saw the woman, and her long golden dress.

"Wait, Beast, it could be a trap," Heather tried to warn, but was in vain. When Beast was inside the room, Belle transformed into Mystique and locked herself with Beast inside.

"Ha, ha," Heather could hear LeShawna's sarcastic voice coming from behind. She turned and saw LeShawna, proudly holding the Keyblade in her hands. She was accompanied with Harold, Donald and Goofy. "I'm impressed that you came this far, your dark heart wasn't consumed by the darkness... yet!" she looked sternly at DJ, and shook her head, "DJ, DJ, are you really helping her? She will backstabb you at no time, just like she tried with my Harold." DJ cowered a bit, while Harold looked down.

"LeShawna, my heart will never be consumed by the darkness, as long as I trust in the light," Heather replied, holding her hand at her chest. The way she replied surprised everyone; it was neither unsure nor certain. LeShawna just raised an eyebrow.

"That's quite uncharacteristic of you," she responded, "You have such a weak heart, concerned just with yourself..."

"I know," the former keybearer interrupted, "My heart is weak, my body is frail and will expire someady... But, now I realize that everything I did was not in vain, all the experiences I was put through, every challenge that came against me was made to strengthen my heart, and I wasn't alone. I was with my friends," Harold, Donald and Goofy were quite surprised at Heather's words, while LeShawna didn't seem impressed, "Although in the moment I thought I did all on my own, the truth is that we did everything together," she looked at her former teammates, "Harold, Donald, Goofy, sorry for all that crap I've put you through, I hope it's not too late. Who would've thought I'd finally realize that in a dark and dank place like a sewer... the light shone to me and I hope it's not too late."

They remained silent for about eight seconds, when LeShawna clapped her hands, saying, "Bravo, bravo... such beautiful words coming from an ugly person," she then summoned the Keyblade, "But now it doesn't matter."

"Huh?"

"So, you've perceived the light... but light is not the answer," a black orb enveloped her and when it faded out, LeShawna changed. She was wearing now a dark cloth, a deep purple suit covering all her body, with the Heartless emblem in her chest. She hadn't anymore her ponytail, but her hair was free, running through all side behind her head, looking like a medusa. Around her waist was a white skirt, and she was grinning. Perhaps something more than the clothes changed in her.

"The answer is the darkness," LeShawna talked, gesturing in a very proud tone, "Even if you change your heart, you still won't have the power to save the worlds, save your family, save Izzy." The others looked in shock and awe at the big girl, "If we lost our dear friends to the darkness, then we just need to plunge deeper and deeper in the darkness to rescue them, to get them back, because the darkness holds the power of destruction and creation."

"LeShawna, have you gone mad?" Heather raised her voice, "It's you who the darkness will consume!"

"Yes, darkness consumes, but only consumes the weak," LeShawna lifted and closed her fist, still emphasizing her words, "The strong control the darkness and even the Heartless. If we control them, we'll be able to save the innocent and bring justice to all worlds!"

"LeShawna, you're wrong, you will be destroyed and won't be able to save nothing!" Heather replied, with much concern about her rival, "Please, stop it!"

"Enough!" LeShawna raised her voice, "The Keyblade chose me because you possess neither will, nor resolve, nor reason! You used the Keyblade only to satisfy your own desires, your egoism, you're not able to save anyone!" she started to gather darkness at her left hand, since she was holding the Keyblade with the right, "Now you will see the power of the darkness, a power that only the strong-hearted can possess," she pointed her hand to Heather, "A POWER YOU CAN'T GRASP!" and she shot the dark fireball, known as Dark Firaga. The orb of dark flames flew at her direction. Heather gritted her teeth and closed her eyes.

Even with her eyes closed, she could feel a flash. She waited to reopen her eyes, waiting for the impact, but it didn't come. She slowly opened her eyes only to see DJ placing his body in her front, with his back turned to side where the attack was coming from, stretching his arms.

"I won't... let... anybody hurt you," DJ said, with a faint voice, but smiling nonetheless, "I believe in you, Heather."

"D-D-DJ..." Heather's eyes were tingling and her mouth was open in shock, "Please, don't..."

"It was... good... to be useful," he said, visibly shaken, "But I thought... it would hurt more." And he fell to the ground. When he fell, Heather could see Goofy blocking the dark fireball with his shield, until it dissipated.

"Goofy?" Heather blurted, and looked to the fallen man, "DJ, get up, you're fine," she ordered, relieved, but with a little bit of sarcasm, "Goofy blocked the attack."

"Ow, really?" he chuckled and got up.

"Go to a safe distance."

"Heather ain't gonna go anywhere," Goofy said, behind his shield.

"I see," LeShawna replied, carefree, "I thought we had already set down our difference, but seems that you'd betray your king."

"Not at all!" the royal captain replied, with certainty stamped in his voice, "But I'm not gonna betray Heather, we've been through everything together and that's not the hour to abandon her! See ya later, Donald. Could ya tell the king I'm really sorry?"

"Hold on, Goofy!" Donald said, running to his side, "We'll tell him together!"

"Bunch of traitors, right, Harold?" LeShawna said, but when she looked at her side, she didn't saw the geek. He was also at Heather's side, "What's da big idea, Harold?"

"Sorry, LeShawna," he said, looking the most apologetic he could look, "You're the love of my life, but," he sighed and held his hand oer his chest, "My heart says to stick together with Heather!" LeShawna growled, holding the Keyblade with both hands.

"Sorry, Heather," Harold murmured.

"All for one..." Donald started.

"And one for all," Goofy finished.

"Thanks a lot..." she looked down, with a light smile, "Goofy, Donald, Harold..."

"So, let's settle this once for all!" LeShawna said, looking angry.

"Wait, LeShawna," Heather raised her head, in a preoccupied voice, "I don't want to fight with you." But it was too late; LeShawna jumped at her, flipping twice in the air before hitting her; Heather tried to block with her wooden sword, but it was almost broken in two parts, the wooden blade was still hanging by a tiny link with the hilt. When LeShawna landed, she jumped again, returning to her initial position. It was so fast that Harold, Donald and Goofy didn't even have time to react.

"That was just a warning!"

"LeShawna..." Heather muttered, ducked, using her left knee as a support; she was still holding the wooden hilt, and got up.

"I wanna see how you'll fight without a weapon," LeShawna said, but it sounded like a challenge.

Even so, Heather put herself in a fighting stance, holding tightly her broken sword, since the only thing she could do was to fight, "I know now I don't need the Keyblade and I know why. The Keyblade taught me this: I hold the mightiest weapon of all, my heart!"

"Your heart?" LeShawna disdained, "Pff...What good will that little thing do for you?"

"My heart may be weak, but it's not alone," Heather was feeling much more confident, "Every experience, every fight, every mishap made my heart grow and made it find a home with the friends I've made. I've become a part of their heart just as they've become a part of mine. And if they think of me now and then...if they don't forget me...then our hearts will be one. I don't need a weapon. My friends are my power!" At that moment, both the Keyblade in LeShawna's hands and the broken wooden sword in Heather's hands disappeared, but only one reappeared: the Keyblade was now in Heather's hands. The Keyblade had chosen Heather, this time for real, as its true master.

LeShawna wasn't amused with the change of course. "NO, YOU DIDN'T!" she growled, very angry, and summoned her other blade, the Souleater. She jumped against Heather, but she blocked with her Keyblade, and counterattacked, sending her to the other side. LeShawna ran again, but Heather blocked effortlessly; the big chick attacked again with a straight hit, but the keybearer defended with a vertical block; LeShawna tried to kick her, but she dodged, and counterattacked with a lateral hit. When LeShawna tried again to attack, Heather dodged to the right and let Goofy block the attack. While he attacked, LeShawna tried to cast a Dark Firaga, but, when she launched, Donald used Blizzara to counter the attack, causing a tiny explosion when the magical attacks collided.

LeShawna backed away and tried to charge again, but was stopped when Harold launched his num-yos against her, entangling and immobilizing her. "Sorry, LeShawna," he said. Her blade laid on the ground and she broke off the line and ran to get her sword, but Heather came first and kicked the Souleater away, launching by the window. LeShawna glared at her, and glared harder when she said, "LeShawna, stop! It's over!"

LeShawna looked at Heather's side; she, Harold, Donald and Goofy had their weapons combat-ready; she had no option but to run away, after saying, "I'll be back." They let her go.

"So, your heart won this battle," Beast appeared, bringing a nailed Mystique, who looked very upset.

"Beast, you're alright," Heather said.

"Yes, and I believe she can provide us some answers," he said.

"Like hell!" the mutant cried.

"It's better I take her to the dungeon," he said, "Since every castle has its dungeon, and she won't bring any problems."

"You will regret the day you were born!" she menaced, but it was an empty one.

"Thank you, everyone," Heather smiled.

"I can't believe I lifted my hand against my chocolate goddess..." Harold sobbed.

"LeShawna is just confused..." she added, feeling sympathy for her.

"Yeah," Donald agreed.

Heather placed her hand in the middle of them, "Remember, all for one..."

Everybody placed their hands over Heather's and completed the phrase, "And one for all!"

* * *

**A.N.: **After all Heather was put through, I chose this moment to be where she finally realizes her mission, I hope I have hit the spot. Also, I made LeShawna a bit emphatic on the dark side, it's because she does think that darkness is the answer. She received the power from Maleficent, and she can't control very well, that was something that caused Riku's downfall, and the same is happening with her.

Also I've made a little update, because, due to a lapse, I made a mistake, but it's okay now.


	34. Draconian Measures

**A.N.: **Another chapter, enjoy! A minor spoiler for BBS but, since I will never buy a PSP, I don't care with spoilers. Also, now the fic has a version of Simple and Clean, go check the first chapter if you're interested, thanks to Frequent Reader.

* * *

FLASHBACK

In an almost empty playground, three boys were bullying a little girl.

"Leave me alone!" she said, bothered, trying to go away.

"What the little girl will do?" the tallest of them said, throwing sand at her.

"Give me your lunch money!" the shortest said. The remaining just laughed at the girl's misery.

"Hey, you three, LeShawna doesn't like bullies!" a young LeShawna called them off. She wore an orange informal dress and sandals. She was thinner and her ponytail wasn't so long, but she still had her proud attitude, but always considering others before her.

"And what are you going to do, you dumb!"

"You better leave her alone if you don't wanna get in trouble," she replied, not changing her glare. The tallest tried to grab her, but she tossed him over. Then the two of them tried to hold her back, but she just slapped them, warning, "You don't wanna make me mad!" But, one of them attacked her by behind, knocking her down. As the boys laughed at her, she got up and pushed him.

"So, she wanna play hard," the shortest said, and picked a rock.

"Go, coward!" LeShawna taunted, "I can make nothing of you with my bare hands, I won't let you hurt her anymore!"

"Kids, stop!" they directed their attention to a man looking at them. He was wearing a black jumpsuit, with red details, and a black cape. He also had a handsome face, with brown eyes and short hair. But his most distinguished feature was the weapon he held in his hands: something shaped like a sword, but barely resembling a key. "Bullying is wrong! Don't your mothers ever tell you that?"

"Look, he has a stick," the shortest one taunted him, not bothering with the weapon, in a defiant pose (or perhaps just plain stupid), and his two helpers laughed.

The man sighed and said, "Looks like I have to teach you by the hardest way," he pointed his sword to them and said, "Fire!" A tiny fireball came out from the sword hitting the ground in front of them, scaring them, and they ran away, screaming for their mothers. Bullying is wrong, but using magic to scare kids is A-OK.

"Thanks," the girl said.

"What a bunch of weasels," LeShawna added.

"You have courage, little girl, one of the marks of a strong heart," the man leaned down to her, "What's your name?"

"My name is LeShawna," she happily said, and asked with curiosity, "And what is this?"

"This is a Keyblade." At the moment he let her touch the Keyblade, the weapon glowed for three seconds. The little girl was amazed at the object, "And, someday, this Key will be yours."

END FLASHBACK

"I'm the chosen one, why did I lose?" LeShawna said as she walked downcast by the corridors of the chapel, in the highest tower of the castle, "It doesn't make any sense, I passed by the initiation... Why did this happen?"

"Do you know why it happened this way?" a voice called her. In a glance, a hooded man appeared to her. The hood covered everything, his face wasn't visible, only the dark cloak and a dark-purple aura surrounding him.

"Who are you?" LeShawna asked, a bit surprised and even scared by the eerie person. She kept a strong façade, but the man didn't care with her feelings.

"This is not important," the man talked, with an emphatic voice.

"Wait, you're the guy from the film lot!"

"You stand correct, however, what is truly important is power! Because only the strongest heart can win the Keyblade"

"What?" she replied, feeling a certain indignation, "Ya' saying my heart's weaker than this?"

"Yes!" he answered, with a grave tone, "For that instant, you were overpowered not only by your rival's heart, but also from her friends."

"If I just had fought her alone, I could've won!"

The man chuckled, "I can see you seek strength, power to save and do the right thing. You didn't fear when you stepped through the door to the **darkness. **However, your journey is not complete. You must finish this once for all, severing the links with the light and give yourself to the **darkness** and receive the unlimited power of the beyond. Then you heart will be no match, not only for your rival or her friends, but for any army coming against you."

"Well, if I started this, I must finish it too," she reasoned with herself and made her decision, "Show me how it's done!"

"Open yourself to the **darkness**, that is all," his purple aura increased, "Let your body, your soul, your heart become one, become **darkness** itself, forever!"

* * *

"Well, now which book do we have to put here?" asked Donald. After the brief fight with LeShawna, the group, plus DJ, minus Beast, who headed to the dungeon to lock Mystique (she was too much of a threat to let wandering freely), headed to the next room, which revealed to be a big, fancy library. Most of the books they picked were in an ancient language that nobody could understand. After taking a first look, they learned that the door to the second floor was closed. Harold pointed out that the library could have secret passages and stuff, and then they tried to place books in empty shelves, corresponding to a sequence. He tried to place a volume named SALEGG VOL. 6 between vols. 5 and 7, and it worked. Using this logic, they keep trying to find the remaining volumes, which opened passages and revealed items, like potions, ether, and even gummi pieces.

"It's written HAFET VOL. 4," Goofy said, "I think I saw its shelf in the second floor of the library."

"Let me go, try to see where's MAVA VOL. 3, its shelf is right behind me," Heather offered.

"Thank you, Heather," the duck replied, and pondered for an instant, "Oh boy, it even feel a bit strange."

"You may be right," she replied, a bit amused, "I guess I have to get used to be nice, but if people can change for worse, they also can change for better."

"Still poisonous," Harold scoffed.

"Hey, she's improving," DJ defended her.

"I can't help myself sometimes," she replied, rolling her eyes.

"I know there's a perfectly logic reason why LeShawna was evil," then he smirked, with some hint of lecherously, "And also disturbingly sexy... Ouch!" Heather quickly proceeded to take out his smirk with a slap at his nape, "On the other hand, some things don't change."

After some time, they finally worked to find the last book. When the bookshelf moved, they encountered Noah.

"Whoa! What are you doing here?" he said, surprised that they had discovered his secret reading spot. He was sitting in a chair, reading a spell book, accompanied by some snacks and a can of cola.

"Look who's here!" Heather said, putting her hands on her hips.

"Hello, Noah, it's a pleasure to see you again," Harold greeted. Donald and Goofy introduced themselves too.

"Oh, well, what's your business here?" Noah asked, pretending interest. He didn't have much esteem for neither of the H-bombs and wasn't impressed by their anthropomorphic animal companions, but he sensed another opportunity to show off his knowledge.

"Well, I..." Heather tried to explain an abridged version of her adventure so far, but she was interrupted by the egghead.

"Let me see, you received a weapon called Keyblade and then you've been in a bunch of worlds, right?"

"What? How do..."

"It's a simple fact, and it was very appropriate that you received this thing after our world was destroyed and everyone but us died," he picked a book from his pile, "This is one of the few books that was written in readable English, it tells the story of an event that occurred long ago called 'The Keyblade War'" he showed the book, a hardbacked, purple one, with the title in golden caps, _Attempts to Solve the Keyblade Puzzle_, there was no indication of an author, but a adhesive said 'Property of SEELE'. "I don't who wrote this book, but it wasn't this SEELE guy and I don't think the true owner is the old witch – not talking about you, Heather, you're the young witch."

"And where do you wanna go?" she replied, impatient.

"I'm saying that, according to this book, there isn't a unique theory for the origin of the Keyblade. Some of them say the first Keyblade master crafted the thing with the objective of unifying the worlds, bringing light and peace to the universe, meanwhile others say the Keyblade was created with the sole objective of spreading chaos and destruction."

He took a sip of his cola and kept explaining, "But the only thing the theories agree is that, some time after the creation of the first Keyblade, they were capable to produced Keyblades in mass, and people started to use for their own desires. I believe this is an indication that the ones who created the Keyblades were a highly advanced society. And then, they polarized everything in two sides, the light and darkness. Their animosity evolved to a war, which teared apart the worlds. The dark side was much more relentless to conquer the worlds, since it could easily create eldritch abominations if they absorb enough hearts, and it spread like fire in dry grass, while the forces of light had the power to grow their Keyblades into insanely powerful weapons. I read one master sliced an asteroid!"

"Cool," DJ commented.

"Nice with the History class," Heather said, sarcastic.

"Shh... I wanna hear it," Harold asked for silence.

"Yeah, this seems to be interesting, maybe we can find something about the king," Goofy observed, hopefully.

"Both armies were attracted to a great valley in a world dominated by tablelands, where they fought until the end. The war ended in that battle, with no winners. Here says that one of the objectives of the army of darkness was to create something called X-blade. Nobody is sure what this is about, but everything seems to indicate they failed, and their commanders perished there. The survivors named the place The Keyblade Graveyard, and they withdrew to worlds afar."

"That's how it ends?" Heather asked, not caring anymore.

"Here says a young king named Mickey Mouse, discovered a way to protect his world from the darkness, but he kept as a secret of state. He also helped to reorganize many worlds after the war ended."

"Oh boy, the king is here!" Donald said, overjoyed.

"There's not much about him. Anyway, fearing new conflicts and a new expansion of the darkness, the worlds naturally developed force barriers that impeded conventional interstellar travel, and people had to content with being isolated or search for new ways to break the barriers."

"So this is what the non-muddling stuff meant," Goofy said, pensive.

"It was a self-preserving reaction," Harold commented, "They preferred don't risk the well-being of their inhabitants."

"Do you mean that worlds are alive?" Heather asked, surprised.

"Of course, silly witch," Noah stated flatly.

"If the worlds have hearts," Harold reasoned, "They must be alive or something."

"Does this book talks about why people receive Keyblades?" Heather asked.

"Here says that there's something called Keyblade Inheritance Ceremony, where the master's Keyblade shines when the student touches it."

"What? I don't remember anything about a ceremony. And why should I care? I don't need training."

"And does it talk about the Heartless?" Goofy asked.

"No, to tell the truth, the Heartless are a much more recent problem. They probably must have some kind of resemblance with the abominations of the army of darkness, but I can't see any link. Maleficent didn't allow me to see the Magneto's reports."

"Changing the topic," Heather intervened, "Do you know where's the key of the upper door?"

"You have the Keyblade, you don't need keys anymore," Noah retorted.

"Ugh!"

"The Keyblade is a funny thing, I thought these books were a bunch of mythological stuff, but when I saw LeShawna holding one her hands, I immediately come here to review my notes and study the links with the spells, always avoiding that loony Sierra-girl. Magic is something that violates the law of physics or so it appears. See, for an example, this spell, Ragnarök..."

"This is Ars Arcanum." Heather interrupted, peering over his shoulder at the spell book.

"No, it's Ragnarök, it's the title, are you going to argue with the book? The book will win!"

"Oh, really, Donald, give me the Ars Arcanum scroll!" Heather ordered, becoming angered. The magician did as said and Heather scrubbed the scroll at Noah's face, "Here, who's arguing with the book now?" As she scrubbed, an adhesive tape fell from the scroll, revealing the actual title of the scroll; the title was Ragnarök indeed.

"Bah, who cares?" Heather said, "As long it works I don't care."

"Noah, there you are, I was looking for you there you are, I was looking for you" Sierra said, eyeing the egghead next to the wall, "Hi everyone!"

"Wah! You again," he looked in the spell book for something, "Quick, this should work, Invisible!" A bright light glowed and when it faded out, Noah said, somewhat smugly "Ha, now I am invisible!"

"No, you're not," Heather replied blunt. Actually, the spell worked but in another person, a purple-haired one to be exact.

"Huh? Oh no, I couldn't miss the spell, no this can't be," he was lifted by an invisible force, "Oh no, I made Sierra invisible and silent!" The others just stared, as Noah was 'floating' to the exit and screaming, indignant, "No, I won't like", "What do you mean?", "No, I don't care with Cody, it's intrigue of the opposition", "No, I won't be the new Cody", "Again, no, I won't like", "NO is one of the easiest sayable words in our idiom", "Wait, did you say tacos?"

"Well, Heather," DJ said, rubbing the back of his head, and not looking at her eyes, "It's better I go with them, if you don't mind."

"Do as you wish," Heather replied, also driving away her look from him. When he turned around and walked to the exit, she said, trying to hide her blush, "Be careful!" he turned his head and smiled.

Harold tried to say something, but, before he could move his lips, Heather slapped him in the nape and ordered, "Let's keep climbing this castle, more Heartless will arrive soon, stay prepared." He just muttered a 'gosh'.

They walked to the second floor where they found a door shaped with the Heartless emblem. The pieces of the emblem were scattered through the second floor but they weren't in hard places, it was just a matter of solving puzzles and using right spells, and put the pieces on the door, finally opening it. Then, they were again outside of the castle, and were received by flying Wyvern Heartless, three of them. Heather and her group didn't let the enormous flying beasts to intimidate them. Heather cast Gravira, lowering one to their level, where Harold used his nunchakus. Donald attacked with Thundara, while Goofy threw his shield. One Wyvern attacked Heather with its claws, and she took advantage that the Heartless hadn't taken off and stabbed its head until knocking it upside down and plunge her blade at its insignia in its chest, defeating the enemy. The other one gained altitude, but Harold threw his num-yos, making it losing control and landing next to them, where Goofy finished ramming his shield. Donald used Blizzara and Thundara to finish the remaining one.

"See? They will come no matter what, let's go," Heather said, touching the crystal, changing from blue to red light, and they were transported to the lift.

They climbed the castle using the lift system and the natural passages of the castle. The castle did seem incomplete, an unfinished building in many areas. The workings of the lift system were visible, they could see the energy lines, glowing blue and red; the way it worked was a mystery to them, but, following Heather's advice, they didn't care as long it worked on their favor. Nonetheless, the number of Heartless increased as they advanced upstairs; Wizards, Wyverns, Defenders, Darkballs and even Shadows; they showed to be quite a challenge, always outnumbering Heather's groups. She spent much magic summoning help from Woodpecker, Starfire and Donkey. They finally arrived in another balcony with another lift waiting for them.

"Let's rest for a while," Heather ordered, sitting on the floor.

"No problem, a-hyuck," Goofy agreed.

"I just wonder how far are we?" she said, sipping a potion.

"I don't think we're far," Harold observed, "But we must avoid taking wrong paths, this lift system is so confusing."

"I guess we're in the right way," Donald said, "There's nowhere to keep going but to take this lift."

"So, what are we waiting for?" said Heather, quickly getting up. She touched the crystal and they were transported to the lift. When it started to move, Heartless appeared, Wizards and Defenders.

"Huh, a trap..." Harold moaned, while swinging his nunchakus. The first wave of Heartless was defeated by them, with some effort, Harold used his num-yos to impede the Wizards to use Thunder (because if they used this magic, they would be temporally invincible), and then letting Goofy jump and smash them with his shield. Heather was dealing with a Defender, she first reflected an iceball launched by its shield; when the enemy lifted its shield, startled, he stabbed the enemy in the lumbar area, making it fall, while Donald finished with Thundara.

The second wave appeared, with even more Wizards and Defenders, Heather decided to test something new. She pointed her Keyblade to the sky and said, "Diego, come to us!" A beam of light came from the Keyblade and landed on the floor, bringing the saber-toothed tiger known as Diego, "What can I do for you, _señorita_?"

"Help us to destroy those enemies," she ordered, pointing to the Heartless. The tiger ran straight to hem, slashing and hacking away the Heartless with his paws, using his feline instincts to avoid hits and to use agile strikes. He leapt on the head of a Defender, causing its fellow Defender to accidentally hit it with the rabid shield. The Wizards couldn't aim precisely and were damaging more themselves than Diego. His charge worn down the enemy Heartless enough to make tings easier to Heather's team.

After Diego was dismissed, they didn't have many problems with the remaining Heartless, and then came the third wave, consisting solely of Shadows. They were annoying, especially when they sunk in the floor, but easy to defeat. They kept coming until the lift reached its destination.

"Whoa, that was hard, but no big deal," Harold commented, when they arrived.

"Don't sweat it, keep going," Heather ordered, "I have the feeling we will face LeShawna again when we climb everything."

"LeShawna..." the geek sighed, thinking about his beloved one. She, on the other hand, wasn't thinking about him, since she just had given herself to the darkness. Her mind was so focused on the darkness she didn't have control anymore of herself. At that moment, she was in the Crest of the Keyhole, the center of operations, place of the world's keyhole.

There, Maleficent was contemplating the Keyhole to the Darkness, a portal, shaped like a heart, to another dimension, colored in red, green, blue and yellow, with electric discharges occurring periodically inside the portal. She approached her, taking a good look at the portal and commented, "So, the path has emerged at last!" Her voice was very different; her tone turned more deep and it sounded like another voice was talking along with her.

Maleficent didn't bother, she knew that people who relies too much in the darkness experience some changes, _I wasn't expecting her voice changing so soon, but no problem_, and decided to talk as if nothing had happened, "Yes, the Keyhole to the Darkness."

"Unlock it and the Heartless will overrun this world, and yourself," LeShawna said, with more sarcasm than usual.

"What do I care?" Maleficent ignored her sarcasm, "The darkness has no power over me. Rather, I will use its power to rule all worlds."

"Such confidence..."

"But there's still something missing. The sources said there were eight princesses of the heart, but we have only seven."

"The seven were enough to produce this," LeShawna summoned a dark Keyblade. It wasn't much adorned, a continuous dark glow came from the surface and it was enough to affright the most easily scared, ending at a red hilt. It also didn't have a keychain.

"The last one must be her," Maleficent pointed to Izzy's idle body, "There's no alternative explanation. But, without her heart, she's useless."

"This is not the most difficult of the problems," she replied.

Maleficent, thinking she was referring to Heather, responded, "The king's fools are nigh. I'll deal with them by myself. You stay here and guard the princesses," and she calmly walked to encounter Heather's group. LeShawna didn't reply, only looked at her, with her dark aura increasing even more.

Outside, Heather pressed another switch. The platform where they were climbed to a new level, different from they were expecting. Another floor, a tower, even the roof, those seemed plausible options, but they weren't expecting a cave.

"A cave?" Goofy rhetorically asked, surprised.

"Yep, a rock-solid cave," Harold confirmed, "Who knows what kind of abominations we'll find there."

They entered by the corridor of the cavern. It was illuminated by chandeliers, gothic-style, every corner gave them the sensation they were being observed. They finally arrived in a hall; it was the chapel of the castle. When the group entered, the door closed behind them.

"Very well, Keyblade wielder," the witch Maleficent called them, in a calm yet malevolent voice, "I must congratulate you for coming this far. However, every journey has an end, and yours must end now."

"Maleficent!" Heather uttered, "So I finally have the chance to see you and kick your ugly, stinky face with pleasure!"

"You poor, simple fools," the witch taunted, "You think you can avoid the fate of this world? Ready to be absorbed by the unstoppable darkness!"

"We won't allow, I've come this far to let a wretched witch stop me."

"Very well, have at your way," she spread her arms in the arms, summoning powers, yelling, "I am the MISTRESS OF ALL EVIL! Meteors of heaven, strike them down with your divine fury!" A dark portal opened behind her and many meteors came out in high speed, right at their direction. They tried to dodge, but they were hit, and being hit by a meteor was a real pain, taking much of their health.

"Gosh, those were meteors?" Harold said, getting up. After they got up, they saw that Maleficent was on a floating rock, summoning Darkballs to attack them.

"Goofy, Harold, you take care of the Heartless and open, me and Donald will attack Maleficent," Heather ordered. Goofy and Harold opened way, by keeping the Darkballs in the flanks, while Heather advanced with Donald on her backup. She jumped at the witch, but it didn't work, because Maleficent moved the rock to the left. Heather landed next to two Darkballs. One tried to bite her, but she waggled and hit it by behind, making it crash at another. She let Donald deal with them while she jumped again at Maleficent's rock. She again, just moved the rock aside and avoided Heather, but, this time, she grabbed on the rock and tried to climb. When she got up, Maleficent shoved her with her staff, saying "Stay down!"

She hit the floor but she had to quickly roll to the right, as Maleficent tried to ram the rock against her, almost hitting the wall. Taking advantage of the low altitude, Goofy used his tornado technique and managed to hit the witch. As she was distracted with the guard captain, Heather ordered Harold to duck and used him as a launching pad to attack her using a descending hit. Maleficent blocked the hit with her staff and cast a lightning against her, sending her again to the floor. The witch summoned again meteors, and they did as much damage as before. This time Donald fell, fainted, then Heather did something she never did before: she cast Cura on him.

"Thank you, Heather!" the duck happily got up. So many times he had cast curative spells on her and to know that she was repaying the favor was very good for the morale.

"You should be egoist, without regard for the other," Maleficent decided to talk "You wasted your precious magic on someone that could go on by himself."

"I don't need to be egoist anymore!" Heather retorted.

"In other occasion you could be my fine apprentice, but you're now a wasted minion of the light, you must be discarded!"

"Discard this!" Heather yelled as she cast Gravira on her. The black orb sucked a bit of her health and made her flying rock to fall down, "Attack from all sides." Harold swung his nunchakus that were blocked by her staff, but Goofy rammed his shield against her back. She limped and was hit by Donald's staff. She backed away only to be greeted by Heather's Keyblade. After some hits, she shouted "Dispel!" making them to be blown away by magic and giving her time to reactivate her floating rock and summon Defenders.

The Defenders were three and made a defensive line in front of Maleficent, using long-range fire and ice attacks. The group dodged their attacks, and tried to attack by the flanks. The Defenders were prepared to take many hits and it didn't help that Maleficent was using a defensive strategy, using the Heartless as shields and shooting lightning at Heather's team. And, any time that the witch summoned meteors it was a considerable setback.

"Time to summon Globox," she pointed her Keyblade to the sky, and the big, friendly blue frog came to them.

"Globox here, need assistance?" he introduced himself.

"Of course." The frog started to dance. The Defenders didn't see him as an enemy and did nothing, concentrating on the others. As more Globox danced, the ceiling started to gather clouds and it finally rained. However, the rain was different from any rain they had experienced; it healed the wound of the allies, Heather's team, regenerating their health. They didn't lose any second and attacked the Defenders. Harold used his num-yos to tangle them and Goofy rammed at full speed, crushing the three of them against the wall and Donald used Thundara three times to finish them. Heather jumped on the flying rock and exchanged blows with Maleficent and her staff. When the witch lifted high her staff, the wigged keybearer quickly cast Stop on her and, for some seconds, she hacked and slashed with all might she had. After the effect ended, the witch kissed the ground.

"Ground tastes good? It could be a good boyfriend for you," Heather teased the witch, pointing the Keyblade. The rain stopped at that moment and Globox returned to his sphere. Maleficent slowly got up, using her staff as support, breathing heavily. She glared at them, gritting her teeth. Her eyebrows had a twisting and eerie contour. To say she was pissed was an understatement.

"You think you can defeat me?" she said, almost hyperventilating, "I didn't educate myself in dark magic for nothing, I spent years honing my skills to surpass magicians like Yen Sid and Yen Loo, I gave up everything for this unlimited power!"

"Puh-lease," Heather crossed her arms and rolled her eyes, "This is bullcrap! Nobody cares that you gave up Saturday nights to go into some nerdy magic stuff. What are you gonna do? Cry like a baby about losing the years? How pitiful..." Harold looked somewhat miffed, while a vein popped up at Maleficent's forehead.

"You will pay for your INSOLENCE! Maleficent is above GOOD AND EVIL! I shall show you the POWER of the Supernova! Because it will be the last SIGHT you will witness in your PATHETIC life!" A streak of energy came from her body directly to her staff. The orb of her staff started to glow and hover to ceiling. It started to get bigger and bigger.

"Heather, I think you pissed her off," Donald commented.

"I think you may be right," Heather gulped.

Outside, Noah, Sierra and DJ were entering in the cave. Noah was complaining about the treatment he received in certain sites that originated from an incident that will never let go of his reputation, "Sierra, stop bringing this issue! Yaoi and yuri are curses! Making people gay only for amusement and wish fulfillment is wrong, so wrong in so many levels! Stop asking about Cody!"

"I know, I'm Cody's love, you can't steal him from me," Sierra said what she had in her cuckooish mind, "But I must ask something to you: what do you feel when you kissed him?"

"Can we stop talking about this, crazy girl?" Noah retorted, very annoyed, putting his hands over his ears, "And I thought Izzy was a problem..."

"You don't know how much I'd like to be in your place," Sierra mused, clasping her hands in the air, thinking of Cody, and her kissing Cody's ear. DJ preferred to stay quiet, thinking that Noah and Sierra were also quiet and they were a happy group, and bunnies and other cute animals were dancing around them, with childish music playing on the background. His fantasy stopped when he crashed at a door.

"Ouch," he rubbed his nose.

"They must be here," Noah stated. DJ opened the door, in the worst moment possible. Maleficent's Supernova had started its firing process. The glowing orb launched a burst of energy that hit the ground, quickly approaching Heather's team. She, Harold, Donald and Goofy ran to the exit.

"DJ, go back!" Heather shouted. Heather threw herself to him, and then both fell to the ground. Harold, Donald and Goofy also threw themselves to the ground, while Noah, realizing that the energy burst was no good, tried to duck. Only Sierra remained oblivious, "Gu-uys, what's going?" She saw the energy burst coming at her direction and stared idle at the burst. She gulped when she realized that was too late and the burst hit her. A medium-size explosion happened and the door fell apart.

When the dust settled down, they started to take the debris from them, only wood and light scraps of metal.

"Ugh!" Heather moaned, taking a wooden plate from over DJ's head, "Are you okay, DJ?"

"I'm fine, thanks."

"I think there's a bolt inside my nose," Harold complained, putting his finger inside his nose to take the bolt, covered in snot.

"Too much information," Noah quetched, dusting himself off.

"Where's the other girl?" Donald asked, as he helped Goofy to get up.

"Whoa!" Sierra screamed, when she quickly got up, "That was so O-M-G! LOL!" She was not far from them, but closer to the center of the chapel. Her hair was a mess and she had a strange golden aura surrounding her. She looked for her wallet to see if everything was alright and picked an autographed photo of Cody, sighing in relief, "At least you're alright!" and she kissed the photo.

After that, the dusted cleared at Maleficent's side. She stood still, serious and evil. She eyed Sierra staring at the photo and smirked. She snapped her fingers and the photo entered in instantaneous combustion. Sierra's smile immediately turned to a look of despair and helplessness, complete with a startled scream. The fire burned slowly, but it didn't burn her fingers. When the photo was nothing but a pile of ashes in the form of a rectangle, Maleficent calmly walked to her, leaned down and softly blown away the ashes.

"No, my Cody...W-WRH-WAAAAAAAAA!" her cry was heard in the entire castle. She was holding her face down, almost literally crying a river of tears.

"HAHAHAHA!" Maleficent cackled madly, "I had even forgotten how funny little evil deeds can be! HAHAHAHA"

After some time, Sierra stopped to cry and Maleficent stopped to laugh, but still smirking, curious to see her reaction.

"Hmm, Heather," Goofy called her attention, "Why are those pebbles floating?"

"I don't know," she replied. Small pebbles were slowing hovering upside.

Sierra clenched her fist, making an audible cracking sound, audible even for Heather's group. She upped her head and it wasn't a pleasant sight; she had fire in her eyes, her aura started to increase even more and she growled "HOW DARE YOU?" Maleficent's smirk slowly died over her face.

"What's happening?" Harold asked.

"I've been using Sierra to test some magic spells," Noah explained, "And I used on her yesterday the spell Counterattack. It didn't do anything at the moment, but I think the effect didn't dissipate."

"Counterattack counterattacks, right?" Goofy asked.

"Of course, it should be obvious," Noah said, taking a step away, "The highest the damage, the most powerful the counterattack will be."

"That means..."

"TAKE COVER!" Heather yelled. From the royal gummi ship in the space, Chip and Dale observed the enormous radiating energy sphere of destruction that formed in the top of the castle. After it dissipated, they saw that the cave had an open roof now, besides the destruction.

Maleficent crawled to the chapel, moaning of pain, beaten and bruised. She used few of her remaining strength to create a darkness portal and withdraw to another area. She had so little power that she didn't even mind to close the portal.

Everyone who was next to Heather also got up, concerned with everyone. Sierra stood there, pressing her hands against her heart, saddened. "It was the best photo..."

"Eh, Sierra, it's better you go with Noah and DJ to the gummi ship," Harold said, "Things are going to get ugly." Downhearted, she walked to the outside, where the royal gummi ship landed to see if everything was alright. Donald ordered Chip and Dale to let Noah, DJ and Sierra enter at the ship and wait until they completed their mission.

"This is as mesmerizing as a plane falling, a trainwreck or the second season of _Order Gaess_," Noah said, looking at the mess Sierra did.

"But why are you here, egghead?" Heather asked.

"We found the fifth of the Magneto's report, and Sierra bugged us so much to go here to give to you that I accepted." He handed the report to her. After hastily restoring their health, they decided to enter by the portal.

The next room was different in the sense that was a wide-open area. It didn't seem they were at Fortress Intolerance anymore. The tower was too tall, full of windows. Vines grew on the sides. Maleficent was there, getting up with much difficulty, using her staff as a support, when Heather arrived. At the same time, LeShawna also arrived. "Looks like you need some help," she said.

"LeShawna, are you alright?" Harold asked, concerned with the change in her voice.

"Better than her," she eyed Maleficent, "Surely." She then summoned her dark Keyblade.

"Is that..." Donald stared surprised the Keyblade in LeShawna's hands, and everyone shared the same feeling.

"Yes, a Keyblade," she sedately explained, standing next to Maleficent, "But, unlike yours, this Keyblade holds the power to unlock people's hearts. Allow me demonstrate." In a blink of eyes, she thrusted the Keyblade right at Maleficent's chest, piercing her heart. LeShawna talked in an imperative tone, giving chills to them, "Now, open your heart! Surrender it to the **darkness**! Become **darkness** itself!"

"Looks like your chocolate goddess is a chocolate demoness," Heather scoffed. Harold didn't reply, he was in shock after seeing her action.

Maleficent, on the other hand, kept a blank face while the Keyblade pierced her. No blood dripped from her wound, only a weird feeling that quickly became power. She laughed, "This is it! Ha, ha... This power! Darkness, hahaha, true darkness! HAHAHAHAHA!" Dark shadows enveloped her, and she grew up. The darkness shaped her in the form of a terrible dragon. The dark-purple beast was hundreds of pounds of brute force, fangs and claws ready to slice them. The only advantage to Heather was that they were fighting in a close area, so the beast couldn't fly. But, again, fighting in a closed area could be a sad disadvantage too.

"Oh, crud..." Heather cursed as the dragon opened her mouth to spit fire at them. Everyone ran at different direction, so nobody was caught by the flame's range. The flames kept burning at the floor before dying out. Attacking her sides or her back proved to be ineffective. When the dragon tried to spit flames again, Harold hurled his num-yos and shut her mouth for a while. This gave time for him to snag some hits. The head was the only weak point available. The dragon broke off the num-yos and started to stomp them, creating shockwaves at each stomp. Goofy tried to attack by behind, but the dragon noticed and flailed her tail against him, sending him against the wall. Donald used Thundara, which startled her, and Heather took advantage to execute a three-hit aerial combo. She landed and jumped again to execute another, but the dragon bite her in the leg, throwing her in the air, and the dragon opened her mouth to gulp her. If Goofy hadn't thrown his shield, she could be in her belly in that moment. The fell on the ground only to be slashed away by the dragon. The dragon spat flames right at her, giving her burnings, while whipping Harold and Donald with her tail. Goofy tried again to ram his shield against her side, but it didn't even bother her. Heather quickly cast Cura on herself, to heal the major injuries, but she knew that things weren't going to get easier. They kept attacking, sometimes succeeding, sometimes failing, but they didn't give up, even if the dragon didn't seem to get more weak (on the contrary). Heather, seeing the difficulty that was attacking the reptilian behemoth, decided to call reinforcements.

"Starfire, come!" she summoned the Tamaran princess.

"Starfire here, master," she cheerfully replied, "What's my target?"

"I think this should be obvious..."

"Ah, yes, the big dragon,"

"Use everything you got!"

"Everything I got, huh?" she said, activating her power, making her eyes glow green. She flew to her, firing blasts at her head. The dragon tried to counterattack, spitting flames at her, but she was too nimble to have right hit. Starfire punched the dragon many times, making her to fall over her back.

"Wow, she's strong," Harold remarked.

Starfire picked the tail of the dragon and spinned her. While she spinned, Starfire also noticed her time was ending, when she started to glow (since she was using too much energy), and released the beast to crash against the wall of the tower, making a large hole there. "By-bye!" she waved to them before disappearing completely.

"I guess she made us a great favor," Heather commented.

"But is Maleficent dead?" Goofy asked. His answer didn't take much longer to come. The dragon arrived right behind them, smashing through the wall, trying to slash them with her claws. Heather quickly used Aero on her and her teammates, while Harold climbed a nearby vine. The air shield halved the attacks, but the dragon quickly cornered the three of them. When she was ready to use her flamethrower, Harold jumped at her head, holding onto tightly. The dragon launched flames to the air, struggling her head to make the geek fall, but Harold didn't let go. He tried to use his num-yos to strangle the dragon, but her skin was too thick, and this gave the opportunity to launch Harold away, right at the hole of the wall.

"Harold!"

"I'm fine," yelled him, hanging on a loose wooden chunk. Goofy and Donald quickly went there to help him, while Heather looked out to see if the dragon didn't come. The dragon ran to them, creating shockwaves that could make Harold easily fall and, if the fall didn't kill him, the dragon would surely. Before the dragon approached more, Heather used Stop. The short time span of frozen time allowed them to pull Harold up and get out from the dragon's way. The dragon fell, but flew back to them, dive-bombing against them, but luckily missing, however it created a cloud of dust. Before the cloud could dissipate, the dragon spitted flames again against them, inflicting burnings to them. Harold, Donald and Goofy fainted, it was too much for them. Heather used Cura, but even her magic was on the limit. She avoided the dragon's attacks, while trying to figure out a strategy to combat her. If she attacked by the front, the dragon would slash her; if she attacked by the back, the dragon would whip her. She grabbed her tail, and struggled to not let go; the dragon whipped against the ground two times and tossed against the wall. Heather span herself and kicked the wall with both feet, using as an impulse, launching herself against the dragon, pointing her Keyblade to the beast. She hit her back like an arrow, plunging the flesh through the skin. The dragon wailed in pain, as a dark liquid sprouted from the wound. Heather shuddered and preferred to resummon her Keyblade. The wound incapacitate her wings, meaning she couldn't run anymore. The dragon was slower but wasn't defeated.

Harold, Donald and Goofy had recovered from their faint, but they still didn't have much energy left too.

"What are we gonna do?" Donald asked, seeing the dragon moving to their direction again.

"Donald can you lend me your remaining magic?" Heather asked back, "I have an idea." Donald closed his eyes and transferred his magic to her. Meanwhile, Goofy and Harold were distracting the monster.

"Say, Donald, the magic I receive from the orbs is just as simple as this?" she asked, concentrating herself.

"Well, nobody tries to go beyond their standard procedure, because it can be dangerous," he replied. To tell the truth, he wasn't much sure.

"So, it's time to break the 'standard procedure'." She closed her eyes, pointed her Keyblade to the sky and mumbled, "Gravira..." her wig turned to a purple tone and the black orb formed above the dragon's head; Harold even used his num-yos at her legs to hinder her movement. But it didn't fall. Instead, Heather was still mumbling, "Gravira..." The orb remained in the air; actually it hovered to the top of the tower and, for some reason, it started to absorb the surrounding bricks, deconstructing the tower in the process; Heather raised a bit her voice, "Gravira..." She started to sweat coldly and her wig turned to an even deeper tone of purple; it seemed she was trying to control every aspect of the magic by herself, using sheer willpower. She said again, raising a bit more her voice, "Gravira..." The upper part of the tower disappeared in the orb and Heather finally screamed, lowering forcefully her Keyblade "GRAVIRA! MAXIMUM!" Heather's wig changed to a very different color: it formed a figure at her wig, a starry night, and the orb fell in a ludicrous high speed and crashed at the dragon. The weight of dozens of bricks smashed the reptilian monster, almost hitting Goofy and Harold. Heather fell to her knees, breathing heavily. Under a pile of bricks laid Maleficent.

"We won?" Donald asked, unsure. Suddenly the head of the dragon popped from the bricks. She hissed, trying to move, but nothing worked, letting Heather and her teammates to give a sigh of relief.

"Your utility has ended now," LeShawna suddenly appeared. She walked to the dragon and beheaded the monster. The beast hissed and faded in darkness. Everyone gaped, especially Harold. "How ironic, she was just another puppet after all."

"What?" Donald blurted, but it was more like a gasp.

"The Heartless were using Maleficent from the beginning. She failed to notice the darkness in her heart eating away at her. A fitting end for such a fool," she looked harshly to Heather, before going away in a dark portal, "And you will be the next!"

Heather glared, but, before she could say something, she grabbed her belly and vomited. There were even shades of blood in her vomit; she breathed heavily for some seconds and her view turned black; she fainted.

* * *

**A.N.: **_Order Gaess _is _Code Geass_. I didn't use the actual name because, if you're writing a crossover, I learned you shouldn't make direct reference to other media unless you're sure you won't use that media. Also, little update to correct some spelling mistakes.


	35. The Measure of a Hero

**A.N.:** New update. I thank HVK for helping me with this chapter. After this update, I will give a break on this story to update my other story, Tengen Toppa Gurren Solvernia (if you know Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann, please, take a look when you have time). This is the most important chapter yet, that was quite nice to write in the first parts, but it gets sadder in the end. Enjoy, and please comment.

* * *

"What is this?" Heather said when she opened her eyes and took a look at the place she was, "Oh, here we go again...". She was savvy enough to comprehend she was dreaming; after all she was in a weird place. The coloration of the starred sky alternated between all the colors of the rainbow, while bubbles popped up everywhere. It seemed she was walking in a liquid atmosphere, the floor was invisible. She wandered through the weird area, listening to the only sound that she could hear, a calm breeze.

After some time, she noticed something. A blurred figure of her family. Her mother, father, elder sister and little brother. She tried to go to them, but when she approached, they faded away. Other figures appeared and disappeared in succession. The figures were all the people she had some kind of bond. The people from the show also appeared, Gwen DJ, Lindsay, Beth, everyone, even Alejandro and Sierra. And also Harold, Donald, Goofy and everyone she met in her journey. She also could see some scenes of her adventure forming on the invisible ground beneath her. The way she fought the Guard Armor, the rescue from the Opposite Armor, and other battles and actions. It seemed a live flashback from everything.

"What does it mean?" Heather talked with herself. Suddenly, her Keyblade materialized in her right hand. Out from nowhere, dozens of Heartless surrounded her, from Shadows to Darksides. They jumped at her, everyone at the same time. Heather just had time to protect herself behind her Keyblade and close her eyes. However, she felt her Keyblade shining and, when she reopened her eyes, the Heartless had disappeared.

"You have pretty nice stuff there, right?"

"Huh?" Heather turned around, "Who's there?"

"Hi, Heather!" It was Izzy. She was lazily playing a guitar, while piloting a green motorcycle, using her feet to guide the vehicle.

"Izzy? What are you doing here?" she asked.

"Me? I'm just playing the guitar while drive a motorcycle," she smiled, "That's a trick I learnt with a pink-haired woman named Haruko. This bike is eco-friendly, Gwen would be so proud."

"No, I mean, what are you doing in my dream?"

"Ah, I was just looking your story," Izzy said, playing a note in the guitar, while making the motorcycle move in circles surrounding the wigged keybearer, "Your stories are almost as good as Haruko's... Nah, yours are awesome, it's like creating apple pie from pear, when you make a pear become a pie and then an apple and then an apple pie. Which makes me wonder, why did you go on this journey?"

"I had no choice…" Heather glanced aside.

"You're not saying the tru-uth," the crazy girl replied, whistling and standing up at the seat of the bike, now playing her guitar with her hands and dancing hula.

"What?" the wigged keybearer responded, steamed, "This giant key just showed up to me on a day and then those..." she stopped for three seconds to think in a word to refer to Donald and Goofy, otherwise, in older times, she would refer to them with an insult, but now she preferred to use less offensive words, "those being living forms told me to go with them."

"And didn't you have much fun?" Izzy asked, grinning like the Cheshire Cat.

"What's the point?"

"C'mon, you were looking for someone in this journey." Now Izzy was doing the moonwalk at the seat of her bike.

"You're quite insistent," Heather sighed, "My mom was swallowed by the darkness... At that moment, I needed a reason to go on."

"The secret word is 'at that moment'." Izzy interrupted.

"That's not a word!" Heather protested.

"That's irrelevant!"

"Ugh!"

"So, what comes next?" Izzy asked, while standing up the seat of her bike, equilibrating the guitar with her nose, like a otter with a beach ball.

"What's the point?" Heather asked, almost losing her patience, "Where do you wanna go with this talk?"

"And where do you want to?" she asked, while standing upside down and playing the guitar with her feet.

Seeing that Izzy wouldn't give up, Heather decided to answer, "I don't know, everything is happening so fast. Back then I just cared about using people like ladders to climb up social positions. All the people, my so called friends... I never cared about them... I never let them be part of myself... No wonder why Lindsay didn't accept my apology," she looked down, grabbing her elbow, "I never intended to be sincere, until now. It's like the Keyblade wanted to show me that there's something to fight for, when I realized that those guys, they were on my side all along," she made a fist and talked fiercely, "I can't simply let the darkness absorbs everything."

"So, are you ready to give your life?" Izzy asked, this time didn't doing anything unusual, like playing the guitar with her teeth, but stopping the bike and looking at her eyes.

Heather cringed, that was a question she was always scared to be asked, because she only cared with herself, even if this had started to change in recent times, "I don't want to answer. God knows, but I won't answer!"

"Very well, so it's time to wake up," Izzy lifted her guitar, "And remember, I'm with you!" and she smiled a goofy, positive and happy smile.

"What you..." THUD! Before she could finish her phrase, Izzy hit her with her guitar, right in the head. "AAHH!" she woke up, lifting her head, holding a blanket. She was in a bedroom at Fortress Intolerance, an austere one, but having a good bed was enough.

"Heather, you woke up!" DJ said, happily. He was sitting beside her, watching her to guarantee she would be okay, and he shouted, "Guys, she woke up!"

"Where am I?"

"They can explain better."

"You fainted at Maleficent's castle," Harold said, after entering with Donald, Goofy and Noah, "Maleficent has another castle in the valley. Or had..." One thing that was patent at Harold was his attitude; he was very apathetic, disturbed with LeShawna's condition, but nothing that could hinder his battle capacities, though.

"Magic overuse," Donald explained.

"But why?"

Donald wanted to talk, but Noah placed his hands at his shoulder and said, "Leave this to me," adding under the breath, "With that quacky voice, my ears would be hurt by the end of the lecture."

"Magic works by absorbing inner forces that we call 'mana', so if you try to use too much magic or tries to create new forms of using magic, your body won't react well. Magic gems are safe and sound ways to use magic without major injury, because they were already worked, so they didn't absorb too much mana and let it be restored. When you performed Gravira Maximum, you tried to create a new way to use magic and you used too much mana, so your body didn't endure. Also, a cosmic magic like Gravity needs more mana than usual magics, like Fire or Ice."

"Really?"

"Believe, be happy every time you feel pain," Noah stated flatly, "It would be much worse if you didn't feel pain."

"Thanks for the help," Heather sarcastically replied, and got out from the bed, "To tell the truth I'm feeling better now."

"Heather," DJ talked, "I also I could not notice that you were having a bad dream... Are you sure it's alright?"

"Of course, when did I lie for you?" before someone could react, she added, in the speed of the light (sort of), "Don't answer!"

"Aham..." Goofy cleared his throat, "You need to rest."

"I appreciate your concern, Goofy. In normal situations I'd agree with resting, because I'd be receiving caress and attention from you, people, drinking hot chocolate, while listening to Brooke Fraser's songs," Heather talked in a cheerful tone, but abruptly changed to a combative and bossy one, "But this is not a normal situation! So, pack up and find LeShawna!" The others were startled by Heather's quick change of mood, but they didn't dare to say otherwise, "We'll return to the chapel, and find a way to go to the heart of that cave! Was I clear?"

"Sir, yes sir!"

At Traverse Town, Chris MacLean reestablished the streaming connection and was trying to make people go back to their seats, taking extreme measures to call back his audience, like furnishing free popcorn, soda and cookies.

"Aham, let me explain the situation: Total Drama Worlds was cancelled but it has returned now, beating the record of show with least time of cancellation, so enjoy kiddies! Are you ready for drama?"

"I like cookies," Lindsay said, cheerfully relishing a vanilla-flavored one with crisps of chocolate.

"How do you know we're not wasting our time?" Duncan asked, bothered about returning to his seat.

"It's never a waste of time when there's free popcorn and soda, wooo-hooo!" Geoff added.

"So, MacLean," Prof. Xavier talked, serious, "You're saying that Heather recovered the Keyblade?"

"Positively professor," he replied, "Our cameras have updated and clearly indicates that Heather recovered the Keyblade."

"Why did the Keyblade disappear at first, professor?" Kitty asked, confused as she remembered of the faux finale.

"Perhaps the Keyblade was testing her," he responded, unsure, "That's the only explanation I can make up now. MacLean, do you have footage from the offline moments?"

"I still have to see, I'd had to get the camera and analyze for myself."

"I see... We have no option but to wait," Prof. Xavier sighed, clasping his hands.

Back at Fortress Intolerance, Heather, now mostly recovered, took again the path to the Crest of the Keyhole, in the cave atop the clouds. The waves of Heartless were toned down for some reason. With relatively fewer Heartless to face down, Heather's group proceeded through the way.

They arrived shortly at the cave, there was nothing waiting for them at the chapel, only a secret passage that someone had opened. It looked like an invitation.

"LeShawna..." Heather talked under her breath and then said with her normal voice, "Guys, let's go through." They nodded and walked in the corridor, an ill-illuminated one, by bulbs that needed to be replaced. Heather walked with her Keyblade in her hands, just to make sure, however, during the passing by the rocky corridor, no Heartless showed up. It was too suspect for them.

When they finally arrived at the end of corridor, they stumbled upon a big door. The metallic door opened spontaneously; Heather and her teammates put themselves in fighting stance, waiting for the worse. The 'worse' didn't come at that moment, instead, they came to the room, named Grand Hall.

The Grand Hall was a big room carved in rock. The style reminded a seventeenth-century palace, but it was darker comparing to them; it was also Maleficent's personal style, they were quite impressed that she had spent lots of time in the details, even if the purpose of the room was only operational for her plan; she liked the splendor. In the lower level there were life support machines, eight to be precise, with wires and cables extended, and there were people inside them. They approached to take a look on the unconscious persons inside them. They were seven women and they knew two of them, Fiona and Muriel. The other five were a mystery, but they were good-looking young women. All of them were sleeping peacefully inside the pods, or so they appeared.

"I know these women," Heather gasped.

"Of course, they're Fiona and Muriel," Donald remarked.

"No, I mean I've seen them before," she protested.

"What?" the three guys gasped.

"I don't remember quite well, but I was strange and... and... ah, forget it! There's nothing we can do for them now."

"I think the controllers must be in the upper level," Goofy said, looking to a stair that went to the upper level.

"We'll see it," Harold remarked, still a bit glum.

"That's strange... I don't remember this red-headed one, and why is this pod empty?" Heather pondered, "Well, whatever, I check this later." She climbed the stairs and stepped on the upper floor. Goofy was to be last one to step there, however, before he could make it, he was pushed away by an invisible force field.

"Goofy?" Donald said, seeing Goofy trying to pass through the force field, but without avail.

"I guess you need to go on without me, a-hyuck," he replied.

"So, this is the keyhole of this world." Donald looked at the giant heart-shaped keyhole, alternating between tones of yellow, blue, red and green. He also saw some control panels and tubes extending around the keyhole. Heather, on the other side, was more concerned with someone else: Izzy.

"Izzy," she leaned down and poked her; she was lying down in the ground. Heather took her next to a wall, to make her sit in the ground, trying to help her, "Wake up!"

"It's no use," LeShawna's alternated voice called them. She descended, floating slowly to the floor, holding her dark Keyblade, still with her dark battle attire and her hair free. She gently landed and calmly walked to the keyhole, "That girl has lost her heart! She cannot wake up."

"What the hell?" Heather blurted out, "What are you talking about?"

"A simple fool like you cannot understand," she said, gesturing, "This Izzy you talk about is a princess, a Princess of the Heart! And without her heart, the keyhole cannot be completed and the door to **darkness** cannot be opened."

"LeShawna, stop!" Harold cried, releasing a torrent of feelings, after remaining so much time apathetic, "What are you? What have you become? You're not the sweet girl I knew, who always put others before yourself, who was always there to comfort whoever needed, what happened?" he said, in the verge of tears.

"LeShawna?" she replied, defiantly, without the slightest regard for his words, "That simple girl surrendered her heart to the **darkness** long ago. She is no more!"

"Who are you?" Heather cried, clenching her fists.

"It is I," she raised her voice; her eyes also changed; they became yellow, like the fire, burning in a creepy way, "Magneto, the seeker of **darkness**!"

"WHAT YOU DID WITH MY SWEET LESHAWNA?" Harold was so angry that he accidentally broke his nunchakus, breaking the chain linking the sticks, while holding them. Magneto just lifted his hand and sent the geek flying away from the area.

"What you did with her?" Heather cried, "Give her heart back!"

"But first you must give the princess back her heart," he pointed his dark Keyblade to Heather. She felt something aching at her heart, her chest even glowed, and she kneeled to the ground, a little bedazzled, placing her hand over her chest. Donald reacted furiously and jumped, screaming at Magneto. He just shoved him away, without effort. Now it was just Heather and Magneto using LeShawna's body.

"It is here... To unlock the keyhole I need the heart of the eighth princess, and her heart is within you."

"What?"

"She escaped from my sight and found shelter right inside your heart, you must have felt her," Heather was in shock with all the new information; every time she felt her nape itching, when she slapped Justin, when she thought to have heard her, and when she appeared in her dreams, it was Izzy all along. Perplexed upon finally realizing she had Izzy inside her, she didn't pay attention to Magneto.

"But now," he kept talking, "She must be awakened to be properly silenced in the **darkness**. **Darkness** is where everything begins and everything must end. Now, open the door! Lead me into the everlasting **darkness**!"

When Magneto was to unleash the power of her Keyblade at her, Heather was still immobile. She heard her friends crying for her to snap out, fight and don't give up, she heard even LeShawna's voice crying from somewhere and she heard Izzy's voice inside her, she heard lots of voices, including people from the reality show, voices she had heard before and voices she hadn't. But one voice made her change her mind.

"Heather..." a calm, soothing and sweet voice called her.

"Mom?" she whispered. She saw Magneto ready to stab her and lifted her hands to block his attack. Magneto's Keyblade was stopped in the midair, between her two hands, by an invisible force. Heather lifted her head, glaring fiercely at him, "No way I'll let you take Izzy's heart!" Her Keyblade materialized in pure light in between her hands.

He decided to step back. Heather got up and held tightly her Keyblade, in an offensive stance, "Izzy, lend me your force, we will defeat whoever he is together!"

Magneto growled and smirked, putting himself in defensive stance, grimly crying, "Show me your power!" Heather attacked, with a direct hit, but he blocked the hit. Magneto counterattacked, with a diagonal strike, but she avoided and attacked again, another direct hit. He tried to press her more, executing a series of quick strikes, trying to breach her defenses by the flanks, but she was avoiding all hits. He made a 360 degrees turns, hitting Heather in the hips, but she quickly attacked, diving her Keyblade against him and she would have hit if he didn't block. They clashed for more time, with each strike was blocked by each other, fighting in equal terms, however Heather was getting tired faster than him.

"Foolish girl!" they clashed, this time one trying to prevail over, "Open yourself to the unlimited power of the **darkness...** it would be much easier!" They were also glaring at each other; LeShawna's possessed eyes were a frightening view, smirking in a disturbing way. Heather didn't let herself to be intimidated, "All my life I just looked for easy ways... using people like tools... and I lost sight of who I was! I WON'T LET YOU DO THIS!"

"My plans are beyond YOUR comprehension...mortal." He pulled his arm back, darkness churning around it and shaping into Dark Firaga. Heather reacted first, impelling herself to his unprotected flank and landing on his Keyblade, jumping off again right over his head. He turned and finally released his spell, the dark flames narrowly missing her legs. She tilted her Keyblade, her wig turning dark blue. "Blizzara!" She said, as shards of ice formed around her Keyblade and shot down on arctic winds. They struck Magneto hard enough to make him grunt in pain, but he didn't budge. Heather, still in the air, landed on his back and bounded away again, landing nearly halfway across the room.

"That's the way it's done, Heather!" Harold cheered, pumping his fists in the air, along with Donald and Goofy, cheering for her from the limit of the invisible barrier.

Magneto gritted his teeth (or better, LeShawna's teeth) and started to gather darkness at his Keyblade, launching it against Heather, in an attack resembling her Strike Raid, whirling in the air surrounded by dark energy. She was quite surprised that his attack was almost identical to hers, and was hit two times, and Magneto ran to her, attacking her with combos, striking upside and downwards. Heather took many hits before she could react and block his strikes. She kept guard as he relentlessly attacked. Since he was powered by the power of darkness, he didn't seem to be tired while attacking. In fact, the most remarkable fact was that Heather was blocking all his hits. She gritted her teeth, knowing she couldn't keep blocking forever, and half-spun in place, slamming her Keyblade into his and knocking it down; he was surprised enough for him to kick him and leap away to a comfortable distance, enough for her to take a breath.

He didn't seem at all hurt or winded; he just looked vaguely amused, and laughed madly at her while she skidded to a stop. "You do not understand the dark power I hold, do you?"

"I don't need to!"

"So, BEHOLD IT!" he pointed her dark Keyblade straight to her, overflowing all his body with darkness. Heather knew this movement, the Sonic Blade; she realized that he was copying all her attacks, so she did the same. They took off in high speed against each other, clashing blades at a sonic speed. In a glance they clashed seven times. Harold, Donald and Goofy watched, but they only could see the flashes of light caused by the impact of Keyblades, also hearing the sound of metallic impact. The shockwaves created by the continuous collisions broke some glass components from the panels surrounding the area, like visors and bulbs. In the end they were pushing each other again.

"You're copying me!" She hollered, furiously shoving back at him with all of her light-fueled strength.

"Of course, **darkness **is power!" He said, grinning like the monster he'd become. "One of the greatest means of inflicting despair and to show the superior power of **darkness** is to have your own weapons, your own techniques, your very powers turned against you! Feel that despair, and succumb to the powers of **darkness**!" With that, he slipped back just enough to make some room between them and thrust his Keyblade at her.

"You're wrong!" She swung, her Keyblade shining with holy light, and the dark Keyblade was deflected with such force that it was nearly torn from Magneto's hand. "You're copying me... because you know, even now, that light is greater than darkness." She smirked knowingly, emotion welling up and her fading strength surging back. "Even in the darkest of nights, the flame of a single candle can chase that night away... and turn the infinite darkness into light! And right now, that flame is ME!" Light roiling off her like she was on fire, she swung her Keyblade once more.

"No!" He said, blocking her swing with considerable effort, darkness vaporizing around him as he clenched his teeth so hard his stole neck muscles stood out, his eyes wide and mad. "I AM MAGNETO! THE SEEKER OF **DARKNESS**! I sacrificed everything from myself and the others! My body! My soul! My heart! All to join with the **darkness**! I hold the power of the thousands of hearts consumed by it! DO NOT DARE TO TALK DOWN TO ME!" Again, he thrust his Keyblade out, forcefully trying to hit her.

"I was talking to Leshawna!" Heather yelled furiously, knocking his Keyblade out of mid-swing with such force that her own Keyblade's chain whipped against her skin nearly hard enough to bruise. "I KNOW HER LIGHT IS IN THERE!" He swung from overhead and she easily parried it, only for him to strike again and again, Heather blocking every swing and pressing forward, coming closer and closer to breaking his guard, the two of them trading blows so forcibly that the shockwaves tore up the ground under their feet and even Harold, Donald and Goofy could feel the wind blowing at their faces, both so focused that neither of them were even aware of it.

"LESHAWNA IS ONE WITH THE **DARKNESS **NOW!" He roared, trying with all his might to break through, to strike her down and end her... but she was moving too fast, hitting with far too much strength that her body seemed capable of channeling; he could not do any more than defend himself.

Heather pressed on, refusing to acknowledge a word Magneto said. "Leshawna, I KNOW YOU'RE IN THERE!" She yelled at the tops of her lungs, with her desperation and fury rising from her Keyblade as randomized flickers of pure magical energies. "React, dammit!" Her Keyblade glowing so bright that it appeared to be a shining beam of holy light, she swung it again and again, twirling the Keyblade over her shoulder and slamming it back over and over, it's light shining hotter and brighter every time, the air rippling in its wake, and no indication of where this new strength had come from. Magneto tried to fend her off, but he could barely hold his ground, let alone truly fight her. As her strikes came faster and faster, Heather's wig reddened and burst into flames as she screamed, "FIRESTORM! PRISON!"

She disappeared from sight, and Magneto had a brief moment to realize that she was using Sonic Blade moments before massive walls of fire erupted around him in an octagonal shape, cutting off his retreat; they flickered as Heather flew through them unharmed and sliced him, moving far too fast to be seen. And she did so again, fires burning hotter in her wake. Magneto screaming in pain as she struck him again and again without mercy or hesitation, flashes of light erupting around him as her Keyblade's light energies sank into his very flesh, corroding the darkness he had becoming.

It stopped, suddenly. Heather stood outside the fire prison, her wig slowly turning silvery-white again, making a pose in front of him, like a ballerina finishing her move, closing her eyes, and spreading her arms in the air. Magneto grimaced in stupefied agony, one final expression of all-too human pain seeping past his monstrous façade, and the fire prison erupted upwards in a mighty explosion, the light within Magneto exploding outwards as well.

When the light faded and the last embers were gone, Magneto stood there, for a moment. Then his leg buckled, dark Keyblade slipping from his fingers, and he finally fell to the floor.

Her victory also cost all her energy. Trembling a little, she kneeled to the ground, breathing heavily and using her Keyblade as a support. She was exhausted, since the special attack, one more time, drained her energies, but not as much as the last time. She let a small smile form at her face, saying to herself, "I must be careful..." However, this time she didn't faint.

"Heather, you did it!" Harold cheered.

"Oh, boy! That was awesome!" Donald agreed.

"Yeah, Heather rules!" Goofy finished.

"Not so fast," Magneto's voice called them. Heather turned around and saw him, or better, LeShawna's fallen body turning into a black smoke of darkness, "You may have defeat me, but every victory has a price," the darkness started to envelop the dark Keyblade, making it floating in the air. The dark Keyblade slowly moved itself to its target, pointing to where Harold, Donald and Goofy were, "I demand the hearts of your friends!" And LeShawna's body disappeared completely, finishing turning into darkness that wrapped the Keyblade. When she disappeared, the Keyblade started to shake and flew at them in high speed. They barely had time to move, but Heather, using what remained from her strength ran to block the hit.

"No, you won't!" Heather said, brandishing her Keyblade against the flying enemy Keyblade. She tackled the dark Keyblade away from her friends, like a baseball player hitting the ball with the bat. She smiled as she saw the dark Keyblade successfully intercepted, drifting away to her left… but her smile died and her eyes widened when the Keyblade made of darkness faded away and, by the corner of her eye she could see the real dark Keyblade flying at her direction. She blurted, "A deco-Ugh!"

It was too late for her. She felt the dark Keyblade piercing her soul, reaching her heart. She looked down, incredulous, at the visible part of the dark Keyblade that had just pierced her. There wasn't blood, since the dark Keyblade was created to pierce the people's souls, not their bodies, but there was a strange mix of light and darkness surrounding the area where she was hit. Her body trembled with the impact and she started to breath heavily again. Harold, Donald and Goofy also looked at her, shocked and helpless.

The dark Keyblade slowly dissipated in dark vapor and seven hearts came out from it. They had spherical shape, glowing with pure light, and flew away to the women in the pods. Lastly, another heart came from her wound and flew to Izzy. The heart entered at her and Izzy woke up, somewhat startled, "Ow, what?" then she looked to Heather, and desperately cried, "Heather!"

She let drop her Keyblade and after bouncing once, making the sound of metal crashing the floor, the Keyblade disappeared. After it dissipated, Heather looked up and said her last words, "So this... this is what… being a true hero means..." She closed her eyes and after a last breath, she started to slowly fall to the ground.

"No, Heather!" Izzy tried to catch her but, before she could reach her, she faded away, becoming shades of light. Izzy fell to her knees, sobbing covering her face, murmuring, "No, Heather, I didn't want you to die, I was just asking by curiosity..." Harold, Donald and Goofy were crying too and they weren't the only ones.

In the royal gummi ship, Heather's signature ceased to blink. Everyone was very confused and in panic, because there was no way to confirm if she was dead or not, but DJ knew that Heather was no more, his heart bonded with hers, so he simply knew and he covered his face and started to cry.

In Traverse Town, Chris and Chef managed to successfully broadcast the fight against LeShawna's possessed body. They cheered for her; after all, they saw what Magneto did with LeShawna, they understood that Heather wasn't fighting the real LeShawna, even if they couldn't understand how he stole LeShawna's body; nevertheless, what he did was unforgivable for them. Professor Xavier tried to argue that he wasn't the real Magneto, but nobody paid attention to him. The crowd simply exploded when Heather performed the Firestorm Prison, everyone, even Gwen, went in awe for her. But the crowd went silent when Heather was pierced by the dark Keyblade. Few seconds after that, they started to cry. Their wail was heard through the entire district.

"Heather is dead?" Sadie asked, crying.

"No, it can't be!" Scott screamed, "Our hopes… are really gone?"

"I didn't want her dead," Lindsay cried, hugging Beth, who was crying too.

"Heather, you idiot," Gwen tried to hold her tears back, without success, "Why did you let yourself to die?"

"Don't cry, brah," Geoff patted Duncan's shoulder, trying to comfort him.

"I'm not crying," he pushed him away, forcing his tears back too.

"No, Heather is dead," Prof. Xavier stared, barely believing in what he had just seen, holding his head, "But now, the Keyblade... No, this can't be good, this can't be good..."

"She died like a soldier!" Chef sobbed, and he was performing a military salute to her.

"No, no, no, no, no, no," Chris said, catatonic, "The show... it can't be over..."

"Chris, should I stop the stream?" Chef asked.

"No, the show is not over yet," Chris replied, his face twitching, "Heather is not dead, nobody dies in TV," he stopped for a while to blurt a cackle, "Keep transmitting it Chef," he said, poking him, "This is drama of the highest quality, yes! Yes! The ratings will explode; Heather will surely win an Emmy for her acting, which will make me famous!"

"Huh," the cook said, "I don't think you're okay..."

"Okay? I'm fine," he stopped again to cackle and twitch his face, "This is the day of my triumph over all who doubted me. Remember King Mickey, he is doing a great job and he knows that Heather is alive..."

"But I don't think this was the deal..."

"It doesn't! That's why Heather will return, triumphantly, hahaha!"

Back at Fortress Intolerance, Harold, Donald, Goofy and Izzy were still there, mourning, when they felt a great wave of darkness in the room. "How interesting," a dark voice resounded by the entire room.

"Who's there?" still with their eyes watered, they stood up. Donald held his staff, Goofy his shield, Harold swung his num-yos, since his nunchakus were broken, and Izzy was alert to the sounds.

"So, you have awakened at last, princess," the darkness materialized revealing a man. He was wearing a black and white cloak, baring his chest, and black leather pants and shoes. He had white hair and grim yellow eyes.

"Those eyes..." Izzy said and glared at him, putting herself in offensive stance, since she knew, or claimed to know, martial arts, "You're Magneto!"

"The seeker of **darkness**!" he completed, in a rather calm and polite way.

"But you're supposed to be dead!" Harold cried.

"And can someone kill the **darkness**?" he said, gesturing to emphasize his points, "That LeShawna girl had enough use for me, for lending me her body, and to allow me to reach you, Princess..."

"What are you talking about?" Donald screamed.

"Especially after the keybearer useless sacrifice... Ha-ha-ha, you minions of light don't understand that every act of altruism, every gesture of kindness, every good deed, all of them are futile, because **darkness** is the end of all things, everything you do, good or bad, is just a prelude to the end of existence."

"You're wrong!" Goofy protested.

"Wrong?" he feigned offense, "You do remember the keybearer when she started her journey, right? Selfish, unfaithful, always taking advantage of you. Those characteristics are what attract the Heartless, a heart full of **darkness**. However she had such a weak heart, but, when the Heartless failed to capture the princess, her heart chose her as her vessel." He walked around, eyeing those who opposed them, trying to inflict fear and despair, but none of them showed intimidation.

He chuckled and continued his talk, "I could easily offer her power to conquer all worlds and I knew she would accept it without remorse and I would even make a favor to you, sparing you from this trip. However, if this happened, I could lose the princess' heart again, so I let her go, I let the Keyblade guide her. Her heart became stronger and she replaced most the **darkness** in her heart with disgusting light."

"This doesn't make any sense!" Harold cried.

"No?" Then, Magneto laughed like a madman, "Fools of the light, how you can sacrifice yourselves for your friends? I waited for her heart to be strong enough to reach this point and, when I finally saw it, I gave up LeShawna's body and let her be erased from existence. If she had preserved herself, she would be alive right now, but she foolishly chose to give her own life to protect you, that's the reason why light can never defeat **darkness**, it is her weakness."

"No, you're not right!" Izzy screamed, "I will never let you open the door!"

"Now, that's where you're wrong again! The mere presence of the eight princesses is enough to trigger the opening mechanism of the door to **darkness**," they gasped, hopeless, "You can speed up the process if you let me take your heart in my hands… either way **darkness** has already won!" And he finished laughing madly.

When Magneto finished his speech, the people in Traverse Town were already alarmed, they were discussing what happened. Chris was still immobile, and Chef, without knowing what to do, decided to press the credits button, like the last time. With the melody of _Thanatos: If I can't be your_, the credits rolled.

**THE END**


	36. The Undying Light

**A.N.:** It's been a while, but I'm finally updating. I hope you enjoy!

* * *

_Falling… it's been some time I'm falling… I can feel my body fading… This is sick… So, being a hero is this all about… how laughable… but I don't know why I feel satisfied…_

During her descend to the darkness, Heather fell down; every meter she fell, a part of her memory faded away. It was like every layer of molecules of her body was slowly dissipating. But she still could see with her half-opened eyes what was awaiting her in the bottom of her fall: a mass of hearts, intertwined by some dark wires, which resembled tentacles. Without any doubt, that was the place where the hearts harvested by the Heartless came and were stocked, for the lack of a better term. Occasionally the wires glowed and she didn't know what the purpose of this was but, if she knew, the glow indicated that a new Heartless was created at that moment. The Heartless were actually powered by the hearts of the fallen.

_Now that's just disgusting… Oh, I'm almost there_…

When she approached, her body was turning more and more transparent until finally disappear, remaining only her heart, and the tentacle detached from the structure and twitched, awaiting for her, like wolves waiting for their prey to fall down to their fangs.

_This is gonna suck…_

The wires enveloped her heart, burning and scarring the areas of her heart that were touched. The wires contracted and started to suck some the energy of her heart, which she wasn't even aware that existed.

_Argh… W-what they are doing… Aaah…_

Heather could feel a particular pain in her state; it was like trying to wake up from a never ending nightmare. It was like she could see the exit, but the exit was out of reach, no matter how much she struggle, there was only darkness and her emotions reacting against said darkness; rage, despair, weakness, loss of control, frustration, screaming and nobody hearing, and other emotions. As the tentacle-wires kept pulling her down, she could feel the despair of other hearts, the other hapless victims of the Heartless, as if their emotions had taken physical form, and that was the case, since they were what fueled the Heartless in the physical reality. At that moment, the wires that were attached to her heart glowed and continued sucking her heart, making an atrocious ache in the outer layer of her heart and, if the tentacle-wires weren't holding her heart, it would be tossed far away.

_Aaaaah… someone… help… guys, are you here… mooom…_

* * *

"As we speak, your precious keybearer's heart is becoming one with the **darkness**," Magneto told them, "And now, with the **darkness** approaching, I suggest that you accept your destiny."

"NEEEVVVVEEERRR!" Izzy hollered with all might of her lungs, spreading tears in her eyes.

"Enough of it," he moved a step closer to them, "Give me your hearts!"

Harold, Donald, Goofy and Izzy put themselves in offensive stance. It was obvious that their enemy was stronger than them, but it didn't matter: they would fight, they would never give up without a fight, they would kick, scream, do everything, but they wouldn't let the evil win so easily.

"Ugh!" Magneto stopped in their front, his body refusing to move a centimeter, "No! What is this?"

"I won't let you use me this time!" Everyone saw the figure of LeShawna, with arms stretched in front of the dark lord. She had a resolute look on her face, even if she was transparent, like a ghost.

"Impossible! You… can't hold it forever!" Magneto groaned, fuming at the crash in the middle of his apparent victory.

"Guys, you must get out of here!" LeShawna warned, struggling to contain the dark lord.

"But, LeShawna…" Harold tried to grab her hand.

"Harold, honey, you need to go!" she snapped back. Harold held together his emotions and said, "Run!" and so they darted off when some Shadow Heartless popped up from the floor and LeShawna let go, fading away.

Magneto just grunted, "Let **darkness **take care of them." However one Shadow started to act strange, twitching its limbs and shaking his head.

* * *

_Aaaaargh… I mustn't forget… this can't be the end… Aaah…_

In the pile of hearts under her, something started to glow. The wires stopped to suck her heart and directed their attention to the glowing thing under them. The pain inflicted to Heather's heart subdued for a moment and she tried to feel what was happening, since she couldn't see but, for some reason, she could feel her surroundings. She felt something warm approaching, something familiar and the wires seemed to be stunned with the approaching entity.

_This presence… Could it be true...?_

* * *

"Goofy, do you have the communicator?" Donald said, desperate, while running through the hall.

"What communicator? I think it was with you."

"Of course," he mumbled something and dug in all of his pockets and, when they reached the exit, he found the communicator and quickly dialed to Chip and Dale.

"Attention! You must pick up us in the tower… We'll explain later..." Goofy poked Donald's shoulder. "Not now Goofy!" the dog kept bothering him until he snapped, "WHAT?" Goofy pointed to the sky and they saw that lots of Gargoyle and Mage Heartless were amassing in the skies. Donald gulped and immediately reissued the orders, "Wait for us in the entrance of the castle! We're out of supplies and energy and we can't keep the ground until you arrive! We're out!"

"You heard the duck, we must get away!" Izzy said, motioning to the descending stairs.

As they ran, Harold asked, "I thought you'd wanted to fight."

"I'm crazy, not idiot!" Izzy replied.

* * *

_Mom... Is that you...?_

When the wires were still stunned with the light, another heart, the source of the light, shocked against Heather's heart, in full force, making her heart to be detached from the wires and to be impelled upside, creating a way to the surface.

_It's been… a long time… my daughter…_

Her mother's heart kept pulling Heather's heart up, continuously escaping from the prison, by through sheer willpower.

_But… how did… you escape…?_

_I… am… your mother… Heather… I… must watch… over you…_

_Mom…_

_Heather… while raising you… I've made… so many mistakes… Things I truly regret… But… I never gave up… believing in you…_

When they finally broke out to the surface, their bodies slowly re-materialized, and her mother was embracing her, trying to protect her from the dangers. They were still floating in the direction of a faint light in the ceiling, or what looked like a ceiling.

"Mom, you're here… for me?" Heather said, crying with the emotion.

"It's good to act like a true mother for once," she smiled, softly. However she winced when a wire-tentacle grabbed her leg.

"Mom!"

"Heather, do not worry about me," she replied, gritting her teeth and refusing to let her smile falter, "The light in your heart is superior to the darkness," she winced again when another wire grabbed her leg, and both wires were trying to pull her down and she was resisting accordingly, "Follow the light, because that's where your friends are," another wire grabbed her leg, "Don't forget that your key is the key that will open the door," two more tentacles grabbed her waist, and she winced harder this time, but her smile didn't falter, "I will be alright!"

"No, mom! Let us escape together!" the raven-haired girl cried, refusing to let go of her mother.

"I love you Heather and I won't let you alone…" her voice became softer and, with what remained from her power, she accumulated ethereal energy in her hands and tossed her daughter to the light. Far away from the reach of the tentacles, Heather went in high speed to the light (considering that the physics of that dimension was different and she didn't lose momentum while floating to the light), but she could see her mother being dragged back. The tentacles didn't even wait her body fade away and pierced her body pulling her back to the dark structure, but she was still smiling, until her body disappeared; Heather couldn't believe that, in spite of everything her mother was still smiling.

"Mom…" she looked aghast and wide-eyed, tears flowing through her face, before reaching the light.

* * *

Back at Fortress Intolerance, the group composed of Izzy, Harold, Donald and Goofy took a quick pause to catch the breath in the main hall of the castle, because they had to run through many floors of a big castle.

"Now, what do we do?" Harold panted.

"We must escape!" Donald replied.

"What about the keyhole?" Goofy asked.

"What part of 'we must escape' you didn't understand? !"

"Guys, look at that," Izzy said, pointing to a Shadow emerging from the ground. The Shadow gave some erratic steps and approached them.

"I'll take care of it!" the duck said, holding his staff, but Izzy patted his shoulder, holding him back.

"Wait, it doesn't seem hostile."

"What?" Harold uttered, "But it's a Heartless."

"I don't know," the red-haired kept talking, tapping her chin and leaning down to take a good look at the different Heartless, "But there's something different with this Heartless… something familiar."

"Ow, this won't do any good," Donald jabbed his staff on the top of the Heartless, "Confounded Heartless, get lost, will ya?" The Heartless only rubbed its head, showing some anger while stomping her foot.

"This is a pretty strange brand of those dark evil monsters-OUCH!" Harold said but, before he could finish her exposition, the Heartless jumped and slapped the back of his head.

"Umm, Heartless are created when people lose their hearts," Goofy cut in. "Is there any chance to be Heather, ahyuck?"

"I think it's kinda' cute!" Izzy said, giggling. The Heartless only crossed its arms, swaggering.

"Sure it is!" Harold said, rubbing the back of his head and rolling his eyes.

At that moment, more Shadow Heartless appeared, circling them before cropping up from the floor. After groaning, they readied themselves to the battle, they formed a protective circle over the Heartless that they supposed to be Heather; Donald holding his staff, Goofy his shield, Harold swinging his num-yos and Izzy in a karate position.

"Heather, this time we'll protect you!" the red-head assured her. The Heartless seemed to protest or agree, they couldn't interpret its signs this time, mostly because they were focused on the enemies now.

The attack began, Donald used Blizzara to counter two Shadows that jumped against him, while Goofy rammed his shield in the ones in from of them; Harold swung his num-yos, with deadly precision, avoiding their claws as he fended off any approach (the num-yos weren't as effectives as his nunchakus, but that was everything he had); Izzy attacked with chops and kicks that deflected their attacks; the enemy Heartless adopted a hit-and-run approach, that increased their threat, because they managed to slowly make the defenders open their formation and they didn't stop to come; when Donald, Harold and Goofy were a few, but critical steps far away from Izzy and the Heather Heartless, five of them sneaked under the floor, and finally approached them.

"No, we opened our guard!" Harold cried, while swinging his num-yos in a full circle, shoving off some Shadows.

"Izzy!" Goofy shouted, slamming his shield, trying to break through in their direction, but there were too many Shadows and he couldn't make any progress. The same was happening with Donald.

"Heather!" Izzy said, and turned back to the Heartless that they believed that was Heather and embraced it. The Shadows that broke their perimeter jumped at them, ready to claw them both. The red-headed closed sharply her eyes and waited, but she didn't leave that weird Heartless. It was when something happened: a gleam of pure light flashed, blinding the three guardians and illuminating the entire room, like it was never illuminated before. The light was so intense that wiped the enemy Heartless out, all of them and Harold, Donald, Goofy and Izzy had to kneel and protect their vision.

When the light faded out their jaws dropped when the figure of the Heroine of the Light, the Wielder of the Keyblade was standing right in front of them. Heather opened her eyes and smiled, practically saying _I'm back, guys!_

"Heather!"

"You're here!"

"And alive!"

Everyone quickly got up and hugged her, Izzy being the last, but she hugged with so much force that knocked them down, taking out her wig.

"Guys… you're suffocating me!" she protested, with her voice muffled. They let go and helped her to get up and they returned her wig. After adjusting, a bit annoyed, she said, "Look at the mess you do without me, you still need someone to lead you."

"Glad to see you're back!" the über-geek said, adjusting his glasses.

"What's the big idea, knocking me and calling me cute?" Heather asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I…" Donald chuckled, a bit embarrassed, "Well…"

"But you were cute," Izzy grinned, "Cute, like my yellow slug Narcissus from third grade and-"

"Kidding," she interrupted the crazy girl, rubbing her arm.

The reunion was interrupted when a bunch of Shadows emerged from the floor. Heather stretched her arm to summon her Keyblade, scowling at the Heartless, but Beast arrived at the scene and started to thrash the dark beings.

"Go away," he said, tearing the Heartless, "You're not in fighting shape."

"I hate to agree, but he's right," Heather said.

"But, you were just about to summon the Keyblade." Harold argued.

"Ah, that was just show-off," she replied, not much proud of herself, and turned to Beast, "Come with us!"

"I won't go anywhere without Belle!" the Beast roared as more and more Shadows were ganging up on him.

"I guess I can't do anything if it's your heart's desire," the keybearer conceded, "Do not die!" and they ran away.

They went to the extraction point, ignoring all the menaces, running as fast they could. Some Heartless were still behind them, but were blasted by the cannons of the ship and they entered safely. As they catch their breath, they were greeted by DJ, Sierra and Noah.

"EEEEE, you didn't die!" Sierra squealed, jumping and throwing her arms to the air.

"EEEEE, that is obvious!" Noah mocked her, rolling his eyes and lifting his hands. "But seriously, you let DJ dying of preoccupation and you know how frail his emotions are."

"Heather!" DJ smiled and hugged her, crying tears of joys, "I thought you had died."

"I kind of…" she replied softly, hugging him back and closing her eyes, feeling and relishing on his body warmth, "Sorry for letting you so taken up."

"It's alright now."

"DJ…"

"Hm?"

"You're so warm…"

"Aham…" before they could exchange more words, Noah cleared his throat; Heather reopened her eyes and rapidly let go of the gentle jock, blushing, and having some difficult to say "W-what, Noah?" DJ also was in a no better situation and turned his head to hide his blush, whistling innocently.

"I know I hate to interrupt your exchange of bodily heat, which I don't hate," he said, in his trademark sarcastic tone, "But we need to go back to Traverse Town."

"I know, I know," she replied annoyed.

"Chip, Dale, activate the teleport device!" Donald ordered and they both did as said; in a matter of minutes, the royal gummi ship was flying over the atmosphere of the town, ready to land.

"Well, during this I'm going to the bathroom," Heather walked away, waving her hand dismissively, "Do not follow me!"

"She's still Heather…" Donald rolled his eyes and proceeded to analyze some data.

After she locked the door, Heather placed her hands in the sink and looked to her image in the mirror. She was smiling in a first look, but her smile rapidly disappeared and tears started to accumulate in her eyes. The tears raced down through her face and she bit her lower lip, twitching her eyebrows and starting to sob; at that moment, she turned her head down, refusing to look at herself; she didn't have forces to stand still due to the shock and kneeled, still with her hands in the sink; she started to sob uncontrollably, whispering distraughtly, "Mom… Why… why did you do that?"

* * *

At Traverse Town, people saw the royal gummi ship approaching to land. Everyone was still shocked with Heather's death at the hands of the evil overlord. They couldn't understand that she was just a pawn. Chris was still immobile, with a dumb expression in the middle of the plaza, while Chef and other interns were disassembling the improvised cinema. Professor Charles Xavier went to landing area, because he was the most important authority in the entire world and he needed to talk with King Mickey's servants and because they needed a secondary strategy soon. Even bombing the keyhole of Hollow Bastion was in his plans, since it was a desperate time and needed desperate measures.

Along with the bald mutant, were Scott and Kitty, because of their loyalty to him, and Geoff, because he needed to know if it really happened. Since he was the most optimist of the town, he still had some hopes.

When the door opened, Sierra came out first, "O-M-G! So this is Traverse Town! There's so many things I wanna know!"

Noah came out second, "Why doesn't that girl shut up?"

"You can be with me, Noah," Izzy said, after leaping out the ship and nuzzling Noah's hair. He just grunted and walked off.

Goofy and Harold also got out and when Donald got out, he greeted the professor, "Professor Xavier, I bring you good news!"

"You guys look so serene," Scott commented in disbelief.

"So that means…" the professor said, hopeful.

DJ came out of the gummi ship and stretched his hand, helping a dame to exit the gummi ship. The lean, attractive feminine figure that came out from the ship made Prof. X, Scott and Geoff's eyes to widen out.

"HEATHER!"

After knowing that Heather was alive and well, everyone rushed to see the heroine of the Keyblade. She, for herself, was pretty annoyed with all the attention coming at once, but she was glad that this was actually a good thing.

"Heather, you're okay!" Sadie squealed, shaking her wand and accidentally casting a fireball at Ezekiel, who was beside her. "Sorry…" she said, tapping her wand to quick heal him.

"This is so good, Gwen!" Lindsay exclaimed, happy.

"Yeah," Gwen said, impressed, "Heather is alive and that is actually a good thing!"

"This goes against all the theories!" Dexter said, unbelieving, "Where the heck is science?"

"You silly!" his sister Dee Dee giggled, while ruffling his hair.

"The show is back!" Chris said, snapping out of his catatonic state, "I need to talk with Heather about the next seasons and…" but he didn't finish because he passed out when Rogue took off her right glove and touched his cheek, saying deadpan, "Save it for later."

"Good, now she can bail me out of the jail!" Space Ghost said, watching from a window, behind the bars.

"Bite me." Duncan replied, not caring.

"Woo-hoo, this need sa party!" Geoff said, pumping his fists in the air.

"Wait, Geoff," Heather screamed, calling the attention of the party boy and everyone stopped to hear her. "We don't have time for party! The door to darkness wasn't closed yet! We must prepare a new attack against the Heartless, this is not time for parties!" Everyone was silent; no matter how much Heather had changed, she still was Heather and she still had her leadership skills, especially to capacity of being heared.

"So, it's the party before the last battle!" Geoff happily replied; unfortunately for Heather, Geoff was still Geoff, and no matter how dire the situation he always found a way to celebrate, a reason to cheer it up. Heather didn't talk anything because she saw that he was cheering up everyone in the town too. _Let the fools be happy_ and so she just sneaked away to talk with Professor Xavier and his students, along with Harold, Donald and Goofy, in a more reserved corner of the plaza.

After recalling all the events, what happened after Heather died and what happened to her while she was dead, Scott said, "So, the darkness is flowing out the keyhole…"

"And that's how Heartless are created," Kitty cringed, "So creepy…"

"That means the Heartless will be multiplying their numbers until we destroy that dark thing." Rogue said, crossing her arms.

"That's why we need to seal the keyhole," Heather said, slamming her fist on her palm, "And it will end and we'll be able to rescue everyone who was lost to the darkness." Heather was thinking in her mother when she talked that.

"The Keyhole in Hollow Bastion is the source of this entire mess," Professor Xavier talked, folding his hands, "But I'm not sure if everything will just end if we do this."

"W-what do you mean?" the keybearer asked, suddenly exasperated.

"The Heartless screwed up more worlds than we can imagine," Rogue replied, "It's possible that you were transported to their homeworld."

"Magneto saw that coming and probably must have moved everything else to other place." Harold intervened. When everyone looked at him, he replied, "What? I learned at…"

"Some 'insert name here' Steve camp," Heather interrupted, "That means this won't end so soon."

"But don't worry," Izzy said, popping out of the blue, "Because today is a good day to do what has to be done," then she scratched her head, "Or tomorrow, because today it's PAR-THEY!"

"And she was a princess…" Rogue said, rolling her eyes.

"Thankfully she wasn't absorbed in LeShawna's Keyblade," the professor said, "Of course, without her heart, it remained incomplete. Once that Keyblade was destroyed, the princesses' hearts should have been freed."

"So we need to go back to Hollow Bastion, ahyuck." Goofy commented.

"We need to make preparations," Donald observed, "The gummi ship shall be upgraded soon."

"Wait," the professor cut in, "You mustn't use the same route," he said, holding his hands to his head, "I can sense their numbers increasing, they will block the space with their ships. You won't be match for their forces."

"But then how are we going to go back there?" Harold asked, "There's people needing our help."

"I have an idea!" Izzy said, smiling brightly. Then she took her hand to her hair, as if she was searching something and pulled out Dexter. Everyone stared agape at her, having no idea how she did that.

Dexter, with a 'what-in-the-name-of-insert-long-name-here-I'm-doing-here', cleared his throat and said, "What do you want from me?"

"Eh," Heather said, trying to simply forget the irrelevant issues, "Do you know how we can go to Hollow Bastion without being obliterated by the Heartless armada?"

"Hmm," he tapped his chin, looking dismissively to the ceiling, "I let a special navigation gummi for an occasion like this. I'll get and install in your ship."

"And what this gummi can do?"

"It goes by a subspace route that let you in the rearguard of the Heartless," he explained, "If they're reinforcing their front, their back must be underprotected. So, it's a chance."

"Good, we must start the preparations soon," the professor said, moving away his wheel-chair. Heather and her group also went away.

"So, what are going to do, my friend?" Izzy asked, nudging her. Harold, Donald and Goofy were also walking with them, but they decided to give the girls some space.

"Look, Izzy, since when we're friends?" Heather asked back, feeling that wasn't the best hour to party.

"C'mon, we're together since the beginning!" she replied, happily jumping around them.

"That's still too weird," the keybearer replied back, rolling her eyes.

"No, it's not," the crazy princess argued, "I still remember, when you were looking out for me in the movie lot. When I saw the door, after LeShawna opened I remembered that my original world was taken over by the Heartless and that they were after me again. I felt nothing but fear and then you came looking at me," she laughed, "The mighty queen bee Heather helping someone. But when you opened your arms to hold me from falling, I realized that I could hide in your heart, that you still had some kindness left in your heart, or else you wouldn't care with me," Heather looked at with surprise because she couldn't imagine that single act could say so much about her.

"And then," the psycho princess continued, "beside your heart, after you got the Keyblade, I saw your heart slowly growing stronger, brighter and I figured out that you just need a little help," she grinned wide.

Heather instinctively rubbed her nape and murmured, "So it was really you."

"I just gave a nudge, but in the end it was you, Heather, who chose to change."

"Well, thanks…"

"Actually, I tried to reach your brain and then control you to make the Heartless-slaying thingy, but I see that I couldn't do that, so I just inflicted itch on you."

"I should've seen that coming…" Heather commented to herself, while rolling her eyes.

"We're partners! Like my granny said, 'Even in the deepest darkness…"

"… there will always be a light to guide you." Heather completed.

"That's right!"

"Yeah," the keybearer smiled, "When I was dead in the darkness, my mom told me to follow the light, because you, my friends, were in the light, and so I wasn't lost."

"Yep and now we're friends, we need to do things together, like when we return to the witch's castle…"

"Wait, wait, wait!" Heather stopped and interrupted Izzy, crossing her arms, "What do you mean with 'we'?"

"Izzy's coming too," the crazy princess replied, rubbing her hands and grinning, "Tomorrow's breakfast will be Heartless," she then widened her eyes and completed, eager, "WITH CHILLI!"

"Sorry," Heather shook her head, "Izzy, I can't let you go."

"Why not?" she replied, surprised and frustrated.

"Izzy, you're too valuable to Magneto," Heather said, holding her shoulder, "We can't risk you and, besides, there'll be much more Heartless than before."

"Exact!" Gwen intervened, coming next to them, with Duncan and Sadie, while Harold, Donald and Goofy caught up with the girls, "And that's why we're coming too."

"What are you talking about?"

"We need to execute a full attack at the castle," the goth explained, "And you'll need an experienced force."

"We can't let you guys have all the fun for yourselves, right?" Duncan smiled.

"Those Heartless will regret the day they separated me from Katie!" Sadie said, with a serious expression.

"Oh boy, together we can't lose!" Donald cheered, hi-fiving Goofy.

"The Heartless think they have the upper hand," Harold said, making kung fu poses, with his new nunchakus, "But they don't stand a chance against us!"

"Just because I have no weapon…" Izzy pouted, crossing her arms and looking down.

"Izzy, don't worry," Heather replied, "Our hearts are connected, so we'll be together!"

"Okay!" Izzy's expression brightened up, "Since we're friends now, I need to give you this, it's been with me since I know myself as a person." She gave her a keychain, the Oathkeeper, a tiny flower-shaped pink keychain.

"Thanks! Well, I guess we can have some hours off until tomorrow." Heather said, smiling.

* * *

In the next morning, Heather's group had made the preparations for the assault. Potions and ethers were already stocked in the royal gummi ship, the ship itself was already upgraded because Dexter worked all night to fix it in due time, in spite of Dee Dee. In the landing area, everyone was there, wishing the best luck for them.

"Heather, today will be a very important day," Professor Xavier said, "So, the X-Men will go there, to help you. We will take the main route, so with almost one-hundred percent of chances we will be delayed. We could have used the special navigation gummi, but it's more important to be used by you."

"No problem, it's your world after all," she replied and then smirked, "But I think when you arrive, we'll probably have everything wrapped up."

"Heather, take this gem," Ezekiel said, holding a dark-green summon gem, "The Fairy Godmother said it's a summon that only can be summoned in space, so it might be helpful, eh."

"This might be useful," Harold said.

"It will be," Sadie said, before she entered in the ship, "Bye everyone, bye Ezekiel!"

"Bye, eh!"

"Okay, everyone aboard!" Heather ordered.

"You don't need to remember us." Gwen frowned, not liking to be bossed around, even if Heather was nicer now. Heather just rolled her eyes and didn't talk anything back, mostly because DJ was there too.

"Well, um, DJ," she said, surprisingly shy, trying to hide her blush, not looking directly at him, "You don't need to worry, I'll be back."

"It's fine," he smiled, boosting her confidence, "I trust in you, with all my heart."

"Heather," Duncan shouted, "Quit slacking around and come in! My sword has an appointment with some Heartless and she doesn't want to be late!"

"That. Just. Hurts." Gwen said, placing her hands on her hips.

"I guess I'll get going, only to not hear more of this crap," Heather said, sticking her tongue to express loathing. The gentle jock leaned down, turning his face for Heather kiss his cheek. After this, Heather waved to the remaining people and entered in the ship, ready for the battle.


	37. Assault at the Fortress

**A.N.:** Again, another chapter, this I tried a slightly different writing style. I hope you enjoy!

* * *

The route that the special navigation gummi lead them was different from anything they had taken before. Usually, the space routes had lots of asteroids, but this had much more pieces of gummi-built structures, that weren't an uncommon sight, drifting carelessly through the space, as if they were a testimony of an ancient civilization, remains of once proud spacefaring kingdoms, but for them were just piles of junk that needed to be avoided, stuff that archeologists and inherently curious people would care a little, and Harold.

"Oh, this is awesome!" Harold said, staring at multicolored structures.

"Awesome?" Donald replied, indignantly, "Those things are jamming the radars, we haven't any communications to relay."

"Do you think the Heartless can show up?" Goofy said, gripping to the controls of his battlestation.

"They will!" said Harold, resolute and trying to look badass. A few scout Heartless ships passed by and were quickly disposed of. It looked like the area also jammed their radars too, so they couldn't summon reinforcements. They took some hits occasionally, but nothing dangerous.

In the bridge, behind the cockpit, Heather was instructing them on their attack against Fortress Intolerance.

"So, let's review one more time," Heather said, pointing to a canvas, where draws of the castle were made. She wasn't the best artist and she drew based solely on what she remembered. "We'll land at this point," she pointed to the Rising Falls, "Because closer points are already occupied by the Heartless. They are probably waiting for us and they must've reinforced their defenses, and our objective is the room in the top known as Grand Hall, right here."

"Seriously," Duncan said, after sighing, bored, "Just tell us to go upstairs, it's much simpler!"

"Duncan!" Heather snapped, "We must plan! There's lot of dead-ends, no mention there will be much more enemies than before!"

'You know, you're starting to sound more like Courtney," the punk smirked.

"Ugh! Idiot!"

"Duncan kinda' have a point," Gwen said, "Besides your awful artistic abilities, it's nothing but climb up the stairs, defeating the incoming Heartless, it's simpler if you put that way."

"I agree with Gwen." said Sadie.

"You guys don't understand," the keybearer said, indignant, "We must be careful! Think before acting!" the ship lurched a bit due to a Heartless ship attack. "Donald! Look out where you're going!"

"We're almost there!" he replied back. When the ship exited the subspace they had a visual of Hollow Bastion. The place didn't present any changes, but one: there were lots of Heartless ships orbiting the world. Luckily, the plan of attacking by the rearguard was working, because there were fewer ships in the area they were dropped, relatively speaking, according to the ship's radar. However their enemy couldn't be underestimated; upon realizing that the royal gummi ship was next to them, they directed to attack them; scouts, fighters, bombers and even a cruiser, of the size of a boat, all directed to attack the royal gummi ship.

"We don't have time for this,' Heather said, summoning her Keyblade, "Homeschooled said this summon gem only works in the space, so let's give a try. Come!"

Outside, in the space an interdimensional portal opened and four fighters, each with white hull, blue wings of the Arwing model; their symbol was a red fox with wings; came out of the portal. The leader opened a communication channel with the royal gummi ship and talked; he was an anthropomorphic fox, wearing a helmet, and he said, "Fox McCloud from Team Star Fox here! We've received a distress signal and we jumped here."

"Thankfully," Donald sighed in relief, "We need to pass by that blockade, we're on an important mission against the Heartless."

"What did you say? I couldn't understand."

Heather shoved Donald off and said, "We need your help to pass through the Heartless blockade."

"Heartless?" Fox replied, surprised, "I copy that. Okay, Falco, Peppy, Slippy! Our enemy is the Heartless armada, we need to provide free passage for them, roger?"

"Roger!" his wingmen replied together and he turned off the open channel to the royal gummi ship.

"Seriously," Heather said, bluntly, "You _do_ need a phonologist." Donald just mumbled something under his breath and returning to the driver's seat.

The four arwings charged at the incoming enemy ships, blasting them with their flurry of lasers, while the royal gummi ship also scored some hits, but Donald kept the ship at the rearguard as Star Fox destroyed the enemies. The four arwings, after destroying the first wave of fighters, avoided the attack of the bombers and launched bombs at the cruiser, each firing one bomb. The glowing energy projectiles hit the massive enemy ship, opening a hole at its hull and revealing an energy core. As his teammates kept the enemy Heartless ship away from the cruiser, luring them with barrel roll maneuvers, which the hare, named Peppy kept talking how this was effective to deflect enemy hits, Fox hit it with a few, but extremely accurate laser shots and the cruiser exploded, disintegrating in the space, taking a lot of enemy ships with it.

"Wow, they're elite pilots!" Harold commented, impressed.

"Without that big ship, things are going to get easier," Donald added, while tracing a route to the world. They expected to land in five minutes.

Some scout ships spawned behind the royal gummi ship in a sneak attack, which gave them no time to evade the shots. The toad, named Slippy flew back to attack the scouts; when they saw the arwing approaching them, they dispersed and the toad said, "I've got this!" However the scouts turned to the right, changing their course and Slippy was so eager to shoot them down that he didn't notice that they were leading him to a trap; eight fighter ships spawned, right at his tail. He cried, "Fox, get this guy off me!"

"Geez, Slippy, you did again!" the falcon, Falco, said, very annoyed with the relatively less inexperienced fellow pilot.

"I'm on my way, Slippy." As the leader, Fox had to protect his wingmen, even if they could be more cautious and, together with Falco, he charged straight at the Heartless ships, blasting them before they could have a chance to aim at the incoming arwings. One escaped the slaughter only to be shot down by Peppy.

The Heartless were busy with the Star Fox team, sending another cruiser. This time they were more careful and aimed its turrets at them, while keeping their distance; Fox ordered them to save the bombs, because their primary objective was already accomplished: the royal gummi ship sneaked through the blockade, taking a route under the incoming cruiser and dodging some fighters; when the cruiser noticed its presence, the turrets fired at the royal gummi ship, but the aim wasn't calibrated and it hit the fighters who were pursuing our heroes.

After entering in the atmosphere, Donald readied the ship to land at the same location where they landed first; the radar said it was an area without many enemies. "Thanks for the help." Donald said, as he landed the ship.

"Just call us again, when you need!" Fox replied, returning his team through another interdimensional portal.

After Donald landed the ship, the team exited the vessel: Heather was the first, taking a good look to avoid unwanted surprises, and then came Sadie, who was the most curious of the group, letting herself to stay amazed with the rising falls, Gwen and Duncan, who were more apathetic, Harold, Goofy and lastly Donald, who ordered the chipmunks to guard the ship.

"It's good that you came back, and you brought your allies." Beast said, jumping at where they were; Sadie gulped, since she'd never saw someone like him, but Beast didn't mind, since he was already used to this treatment and she didn't mean evil and he smiled to her, showing his big line of sharp teeth. Sadie just chuckled, in a weird mix of embarrassment and fear and said softly while waving her hand, "Hi!"

"Say, what happened to the other princesses?" Heather asked, demanding.

"They stood there for a reason," he explained, "But the Heartless are infesting the castle right now, and it'll be much harder to climb up the stairs this time. Mystique is arrested in the dungeon, so this time I'll lend you my strength again."

"Good," raising her right arm, Heather summoned her Keyblade; churning light gathered together in her hand, in the shape of the Keyblade and it materialized, the golden hilt at her hand and the argent blade waving in the air. "Now the fun will begin," he eyed her teammates and said, smirking, "I hope you have brought your toys too."

Indeed they had; Gwen waved her hand, making a dark energy encircle it; the energy grew up, expanding vertically, forming the shape of a scythe; when the energy dissipated, she was holding her sharp scythe and wearing her hourglass in her belt. Duncan unsheathed his sword, swinging it in the air, showing off (next to Harold, almost hitting him, but he was just messing around with him). Sadie put her mage hat and poncho and held tightly her wand with both hands, even if she was willing to fight, she was still insecure. Goofy held his shield ceremoniously and rubbed it with a cloth, making it shine. Donald grabbed his staff and held it in the air, juggling a bit. Harold picked up his new nunchakus; with a new magic chain, he made sure that it won't be snapping again, and the sticks were now made of metal, which meant a more powerful weapon, without losing his natural agility; he also had a supply of num-yos. Beast howled, making his roar resound through the entire area, making sure that they have arrived and were ready to take the Heartless down.

"Here they come!" In each of the first three platforms, Defenders spawned in the middle of them. Beast went first, pulling the first Defender out of the platform and they followed, while he did the same with the other two. They didn't have time for the small fray and just knocking them out was the most reasonable thing to do. When they arrived at the platform with the water puddle, things were different. Five Shadowballs were waiting for them, with their silent, manic cackles.

"Beast, leave them to us, go clean up the other platforms," Heather ordered, "Goofy, follow him. Donald, Sadie, fire at the enemies who try to block their passage."

"Alright!" the guard followed the Beast.

"Oh, gosh, I'm so nervous…" Sadie whimpered.

"Concentrate, let the magic happens," Donald advised, as a more experienced magician. Sadie pointed her wand to a Darkball that was blocking Beast's path, closed her eyes and fired. When she reopened her eyes, she that she had hit… the wrong target; Beast's cape was slightly charred and Donald was facepalming. Sadie looked down, disappointed. The duck lifted his wand and cast Thundara, startling the Heartless, and impeding other two Darkballs to join the blockade. Beast and Goofy passed without problems, while Gwen, Heather and Duncan were fighting the remaining Heartless.

Heather slashed a Darkball three times, making it crash against a wall, while Gwen was busy with other, slashing horizontally the enemy, as if she was reaping a crop; a third Darkball screeched at them, making an explosion of darkness, forcing both girls to step back. Duncan came from behind and pierced the Heartless at its back, turning him to dark dust. Another rushed at him, snapping his jaws and it was stopped when Heather cast Blizzara at it, letting Harold finish with a swipe of his nunchakus.

At a distance, Donald tried to teach Sadie about how to control better her aim, when a Darkball crept by an unexpected side. Sadie chirped when she noticed the Heartless and cast many Fira spells, until it was defeated.

"Sadie, you need to control yourself." Donald warned; even if he was happy that there was less of an enemy to bother, he thought that bringing a novice magician like her could harm the integrity of the team. And, besides, he wasn't much of a patient person. Another tried to bite him, but Sadie chirped again and fired until it was defeated. Her magic reserve was low, so Donald gave her ether and warned her to be careful with her magical power.

In the other platforms, Beast just knocked the Defenders out of the platforms, not much trouble, however, when they reached the highest platform, the one with the lift, there was a Wyvern waiting for them. The Heartless dive-bombed at the Beast, spinning through him, but he stopped with his bare claws and Goofy slammed his shield at the enemy. It fell out, but it flapped its wings, gaining altitude and tried to dive-bomb again. When it charged at Beast again, he jumped, making the Heartless fly straight, missing him and crashing against a wall. Goofy jumped and slammed his shield against the Heartless. Immobilized, the Heartless faded to dark dust as the heart it was possessing came out and flew away.

After a few minutes, the group caught up and they jumped in the lift, going to the next level, the entrance of Fortress Intolerance and more Heartless awaiting them. The passage that lead to the castle's entrance door was short, but it was filled with Heartless; Shadows, Defenders, Wizards and Darkballs. Being the team's ram, Beast used his Ferocious Lunge technique and charged at the enemies, unstoppable. The special attack put him in a berserk state, when he couldn't feel pain, while running in a straight line, destroying everything that stood in his way. The Heartless didn't have time to react and any Heartless that wasn't caught at Beast's rampage was finished by Heather's Keyblade, Gwen's scythe, Goofy's shield, Duncan's sword and Harold's nunchakus. Donald and Sadie saved their spells for later. They ran through the way without problems.

In the entrance hall, there was more trouble. Since it wasn't very well illuminated, it was the perfect place for Shadows and Darkballs. Sadie was startled again when a Shadow jumped at her and, in a reflex, she cast Reflect, bouncing the Heartless back to meet its end at Harold's swinging nunchakus. Next to the fountain, a Wizard emerged and cast electric spells at them, hitting Gwen and Donald; Duncan tried to hit it with the sword, but he didn't know that this Heartless became temporarily invincible while cast Thunder, so he just hurt himself; after cursing under his breath, he charged again; this time he was lucky, because it had just finished the spell and pierced his sword at his hat; the Heartless tried to slam his staff at him, but it was defeated when Beast slashed the immobilized enemy with his claws.

Meanwhile, Gwen used her Sharp Barrier technique, which consisted in revolving her scythe above her head in high speed, creating a deadly shield for any enemy that tried to approach her. Some Shadows which were dumb enough to jump at her, trying to thrust their claws at her, perished upon touching the revolving blade.

Heather was facing an insistent Darkball that tried to attack sneaking from above. Heather's shark sense perceived the enemy in the last second and she stepped back, making it fall against the floor, but it quickly slammed his massive head against her; she blocked and span around, counterattacking with a horizontal strike of her Keyblade; the floating mass of darkness shrieked and tried to bite her, but she shove her Keyblade inside its mouth, piercing the body. As the Darkball dissipated, Heather shuddered and ran to the upper floor, trying to see if the door to the library was open. Two more Darkballs appeared, but she just used Gravira on them, gaining time to check the door. And it was opened.

"Guys," she shouted, "We don't have time for this, climb up here!"

As the effect of the gravity spell faded and the Darkballs returned to normal, Heather held her position, holding her Keyblade with a determined look, but Donald and Goofy came from behind; the duck cast Blizzaga at one enemy and Goofy rammed his shield against the other; other three came from the left, but Gwen tapped her hourglass, saying "Stop!", freezing the movements of the Heartless; she took advantage of the opportunity to hack and slash them with fury. After the effect of the time spell faded, two were destroyed, but one remained, and it was finished by a slash from Beast's claws. Some Lastly, Shadows emerged from the floor, but were defeated by Harold's nunchakus, and Sadie's fire spells. Seeing more Heartless entering by the door, the group quickly entered to the safety of the library.

"Now, be careful, the Heartless may be even here!" Harold said.

"Don't worry," a voice called them, "The library is a special place. There's no Heartless here."

"Belle!" Beast exclaimed happily. In the upper level of the library, they saw a young brunette woman wearing a long and gorgeous golden dress. She was Belle. Beast ran to her hugged her.

"I've missed you so much," he said, crying of happiness.

"It's okay," she replied, hugging him back, "We're fine. The other princesses are in the chapel waiting for you."

Heather didn't mind about their reunion and announced, "Let's take a break of five minutes." After resting for this time, they went on their trail to the final tower of the castle. Beast was much more animated since he knew that Belle was safe and, before they left the library, she gave Heather the Divine Rose keychain.

After taking the path to outside, they headed to another flight of steps. Wyverns and Wizards were waiting for them, blocking their path. Two Wizards launched Blizzard spells at them, making the icy crystal-like shard to hit Gwen and Duncan; Beast jumped at them, using his mighty claws to put an end to their coordinate attack; the Wizard fell quickly to them, but he exposed himself to harass of three Wyverns; Sadie cast reflect at Beast, making the flyer Heartless to bounce back. Heather took advantage and jumped, landing one Wyvern, while stabbing it with her Keyblade, three hits were enough to get rid of the Heartless. While Heather as dealing with that Wyvern, Harold launched his num-yos to immobilize one enemy and Goofy launched his shield like a boomerang to shoot down other; the first was defeated when Donald cast four times Blizzara at it and the last when Duncan impaled with his sword. A last Wizard tried to sneak behind Gwen, teleporting behind her, but she just swung forcefully her scythe in a half-circle turn, splitting it in two. Without more enemies, they climb the next flight of stairs.

In the corridor, which gave them a view of a part of the interior of the lift system, more Shadows appeared and, at the end of the corridor, to path to another flight of stairs, two Defenders stood position. Beast, Gwen and Goofy were busy with the Shadows. Heather tried to guide the others to fight the Defenders, when Darkballs appeared from the shadows. The constructs of dark energy were many and Heather, decided to summon Woodpecker. After pointing her Keyblade to the sky, a red beam came out, exploding after taking altitude, and the blue and white bird with red toupee came to them, laughing his trademark laugh. Like a stonebreaker, he used his beak to annihilate the Darkballs, crushing them to dark dust and managing to hurt one of the Defenders, before his time ended. Harold used his dancing nunchakus technique, which helped him to avoid his enemy while delivering quick hits until it was defeated. Sadie cast Fira at the remaining Defender, but it blocked with its shield. Duncan tried to hit it, but he blocked again and bit the punk. Beast then jumped at it, grabbing it by behind, while Goofy rammed his shield to knock it down, leaving Gwen to deliver the finishing blow. Another level was secured.

The more they climbed, the more relentless the Heartless attack became. They surely didn't want to make them reach the Grand Hall. Even if they had a big group, of eight fighters, the Heartless simply outnumbered them. Thankfully Donald had brought many Phoenix Downs, because almost everyone fell unconscious at least once; Sadie was an exception, because she was easily scared and ran away through the area until someone protect her; Duncan complained she was a nuisance, but he also made basic mistakes like dropping his sword (but this was due to the sweat); Heather was also starting to get really tired, she was using a more complacent strategy, casting Stop when a group of Heartless approached and asking for help to beat them while they were immobilized; Gwen thought that to be funny, even if she herself fell down once, when, due to a miscalculation, Harold used his num-yos at a Wyvern and, while he managed to immobilize the big Heartless, it fell right over Gwen, and it was heavy. The sneak attacks were bad for everyone and the Wizards were master of this, casting Thunder spells after spawning behind their backs.

After much trouble, they arrived at the final floor, the Crest of the Keyhole. There were some Wyverns waiting in the other towers, but Heather just said, "Screw this! Let's keep going!" She pointed her group to run to the cave; a Wyvern tried to block her, but she cast Stop and she ignored it, keeping her run. That's what she'd want to do if her magic hadn't depleted at that moment. In a burst of anger, she blocked its claws and attack mindlessly at the flyer Heartless, without much avail. Beast dragged her by the arm, while Harold immobilized the Heartless with his num-yos. After they entered at the cave, for some reason the other Heartless didn't follow.

"Strange…" Heather mused; the flying Heartless stopped when they entered in the cave, as if the Heartless were feeling something that bothered them, an invisible power that was a stench to the dark creatures. Somehow Heather felt it and not only her, but the entire group as well; they had the feeling they were safe in castle's chapel.

"We've been waiting for you, Keyblade master." One woman called Heather. When they looked, they saw the six remaining princesses of the heart. The keybearer only knew Muriel and Fiona, but the other introduced themselves as Cinderella, Aurora, Snow White and Jean Gray. They explained that they, somehow, used their inner lights to slow down the progress of the darkness, that Magneto escaped through a portal, while smirking when the darkness engulfed him (Aurora was visibly shaken while she described the event), and that they must hurry.

"Oh, I hope Courage is doing well." Muriel said.

"And Shrek," Fiona said, "How's him?"

"They must be alright," Harold answered, "They know how to take care of themselves."

"Eustace gets angry when he doesn't have his coffee," the old woman kept talking, "It's three spoonful of sugar…"

"Please, Heather," Snow White said, "You must hurry, we can't hold forever and we're starting to get tired."

"Oh, come on," Cinderella replied, "You've been sleeping for months and you're already starting to get tired?"

"I'm a long-sleeper," the blue-clad woman replied back, "It's a medical condition."

"Except that it's not," the silver-dressed woman retorted, and Snow White just pouted.

"Our power is holding the Heartless back from this room," Jean Gray explained, "But it doesn't cover the Grand Hall, so you must be careful when you arrived there."

"We will!" Heather said, resolute, "Alright, ladies and Gwen," everyone frowned, but Sadie who didn't quite understand her joke, "Now it's time to clean up this mess. Go!"

"Wait, keybearer," Cinderella said, giving her a big fire gem, "We offer this to help you at your quest." It was a gem that allowed Heather to use an even more powerful magic, Firaga.

With a word of encouragement of the princesses, Heather and her group left the chapel and, after some minutes, without random encounters, they reached the Grand Hall.

As they stepped in, Shadows emerged from the floor, jumping at them with their sharp claws. One jumped at Gwen and the goth swung her scythe in horizontal, cutting in half. Beast opened his way, slashing the enemies, but he was quickly stopped when Darkballs start to gang in against him; his mighty power was being matched by sheer numbers; Donald and Sadie cast spells at them, Thundara and Reflect. Harold, jumping like a ninja, leapt through the pods where the princesses were kept sleeping, when a Darkball materialized in his front, slamming his massive head; upon losing balance, he spun in the mid-air and managed to land on foot at the floor; the Heartless charged at him, ready to bite the nerd, but he dodged; he kept dodging, while swinging his nunchakus, waiting for the right moment to hit; in the end it was Duncan who struck his sword at the enemy, defeating it.

"You owe me, Doris," he said, backhanded.

"I have it in my hand," he frowned.

"Then why didn't you finish that thing earlier?"

"I was going to do that!" Harold cried, indignant, "It's just that I was trying to be artistic." Duncan only laughed and ignored more of Harold's explanations.

While they discussed, Goofy rammed his shield against a group of Shadows, knocking them like bowling pins, while Donald covered him with thunder spells. More Shadows and Darkballs came in, and they were still stuck at the lower level, since the keyhole was in the upper level; they were making a living barrier, trying to desperately impede our heroes to reach the upper level, sending more of their dark soldiers against them. Every time a Heartless from the barrier was defeated, another immediately showed up trying to replace it. After four minutes of non-stopping brawl, and a few bruises, the Heartless stopped to come for a while and Heather ordered to get going, after using ethers and potions to restore the health of the team.

The upper level hadn't changed; it still had the same multicolored portal, the same computers and so on. Those who hadn't seen the portal were marveled at the structure, but their astonishment dissipated in no time when the pattern of colors inside the portal became more unstable; green, yellow, red and blue patterns started to get erratic, forming sharp curves, and one color trying to overwhelm the other, disappearing and reappering in a sickening spiral of chaos; the pipes at the top of the portal whistled, concerning everyone.

"W-what's happening?" Sadie said, clutching on her wand.

"The computers," Gwen said, glancing at the beeping computers at her side, "I don't think they're supposed to be like this."

"Heather, quick!" Harold said, remind Heather she had the Keyblade. She nodded and pointed her Keyblade to the heart-shaped structure of the portal. However, nothing happened.

"What's wrong?" Donald asked.

"It's not working," she said, tapping her Keyblade, waving it to other directions on the portal. At that moment, they heard a roar coming from the portal.

"I guess we need to get inside." Beast commented.

Suddenly, many Heartless appeared; Shadows emerging from the floor, Defenders and Wizard teleporting to the area, and Darkballs coming from the ceiling.

"I think they're twenty," Harold estimated, swinging his nunchakus, "and I bet they're just the first wave."

"We don't have time for this," Heather grunted and ordered, "Me, Harold, Donald and Goofy will go in; the rest hold position until we come back!" without waiting any question, she ran to the portal. Harold, Donald and Goofy followed suit, while Beast, Gwen, Duncan and Sadie stayed in the room to fend off the Heartless attack.

The area where Heather went was called the Dark Depths; it had the shape of an oval room, the wall were invisible for them and they only could see the same chaotic color pattern of the entrance of the portal, going back and forth in the "walls" of the room.

"Someone must have been of out his mind to make something like this." Heather mused, when her friends also came to the room.

"There, the keyhole," Goofy pointed to a bright keyhole in the edge of the room.

"So, let's go!" Donald said.

"Wait, that's exactly what they want us to do." Heather replied, placing a hand in front of him and then shouted, "Show us your ugly face!"

At that moment, liquid darkness started to pour in the middle of the room and started to take form. Four legs with hoofs at its extremities appeared at there, linked through a body that looked like a man walking on his four materialized and its head was the last thing to take shape; with three big, dark horns coming out of the top of its head, and a big mouth, with a pair of tusks in the lower jaw, with yellow eyes glowing, the ugly face of the Behemoth took form, roaring at them.

"You had to do this, Heather!" Harold rolled his eyes and Heather just slapped the back of his head.

"This gonna be tough," Heather said, concerned, but smirked anyways, "We just need to be tougher." With that she charged at the Heartless beast, yelling while brandishing the Keyblade in the air; when she was next, the Behemoth tried to stomp her, but it was too slow and she was out of the shadow of its feet rather quickly; Heather avoided its other stomping feet with relative ease and hit her Keyblade at the left hinder leg; the impact was strong but the enemy didn't show any sign of actually feeling the hit. The monster tried to smother his left hinder against her, but she escaped jumping to the right; with another jump, her Keyblade started to glow and she used Strike Raid against the trunk of the beast; it whimpered a bit, when the high-speed spinning Keyblade hit it, but the damage was minimal.

While Heather was trying to find a weakness, Donald cast Firaga at the face of the monster, startling it, but, again, without damaging much; Goofy and Harold tried to attack its anterior legs but without avail too; the skin of the Heartless was simply too thick and hitting its face only seem to anger it. The monster lowered its head, exposing its central horn, which was accumulating electricity.

"The horn!" Heather exclaimed, in her eureka moment, "Aim for the horn!"

"Of course!" Harold said, jumping to slam his nunchakus against the horn of the beast, making it whimper a bit; however the horn was still charging. Donald, who was also next to it, aimed his staff at the beast and cast Firaga; the fire projectiles, hit the target, damaging the enemy.

And so, the Behemoth lifted its head a bit, releasing the electric energy from its horn. At that moment, a storm of lightning fell under Heather, Harold, Donald and Goofy; they took a few hits that drained quickly their energy.

"Ow, that hurts…" Donald moaned.

"And it'll hurt more if we don't finish that thing soon!" Heather retorted.

The Behemoth lowered its horn again and again started to accumulate electric energy. Goofy launched his shield against the beast, hitting its horn, while Heather along with Donald used Firaga at it; Harold, on the other side, had climbed the back of the beast and reached the back of its head and started to pound with his nunchakus.

"Harold, what are you doing?" Heather asked.

The über-geek was becoming a nuisance to the Behemoth and it tried to shake its head, but Harold didn't lose his balance. Heather decided to help him, casting Gravira; the cosmic spell held the head of the monster down for a few moments more and they took advantage to hit without restrains the weak point of the creature. When the monster finally managed to release its electric attack, lightning poured down on Heather and the others, but this time less attacks hit them, because they were expecting and dodged them; since Harold was still on the Behemoth's head, some lightning hit the beast instead of the geek.

Heather decided to summon Globox, since it would be a long battle, they'd need to save their magic to offensive spells. The friendly big frog was called and started to do his rain dance. The rain healed their bruises, giving them a new wind to fight the beast, which had new tricks; while the Behemoth gave a long roar, all of its three horns glowed and summoned dark spheres that chased on Heather's group, even managing to knock Harold off the back of the beast.

"Gosh!" he muttered, rubbing his sore butt, and quickly got up, when the beast moved one of his legs to stomp him. They repeated the same pattern of attacks for two times, with Heather climbing at its back once, but she was knocked out too, but the beast didn't seem to falter; it only felt pain, or something like, when the horn was hit, but no hit was strong enough to make it fall, and the rain was stopping, indicating that Globox returned to his summon sphere.

"We need to do something," Heather mused; there was nothing in the terrain that could help her; she could try mixing her magic, but, even if the beast was slow, its magic attacks were pretty fast, it would easily startle her and foil her attempt, not mention that she felt her own magic was already much depleted. They need to think on something, because it again started to accumulate electric energy and then Heather had an idea.

"Harold, Donald, Goofy, I'll climb," she said, darting off, "Distract it!" she climbed using the hinder leg of the beast as a support and walked on its back. The beast tried to shake her off in vain, as Donald cast Firaga spells, Goofy threw his shield and Harold his num-yos, trying to encircle its legs, but without success. Heather stood over its horn and kneeled, while struggling to keep her balance; the beast was still charging its electric attack, and Heather said, "So, you want energy," with one hand holding onto the beast and the other holding the Keyblade, she said, "I'll give you some!" and, with a mighty cry, she pierced the Keyblade in its horn; it just made a small crack, but Heather kept going; her wig turned to blonde and she grunted, gritting her teeth, "Thun-dder!" the electric attack came from the sky but, instead of falling randomly at the enemy, the lightning concentrate where Heather was and hit the Behemoth; the Heartless howled in pain, with a surge of electricity running through all its body. The horn cracked entirely and it fell like broken glass in the ground. The Behemoth was defeated, its body slowly turning in dark dust and fading away. The battle was won!

Due to the energy, Heather was thrown far away, falling on her back. Harold, Donald and Goofy rushed to her. She had her skin slightly charred, bruises and her wig was out of place; she coughed a bit of smoke. She shook her head, rubbing her eyes, which were also slightly reddened, "I guess I won't be trying this strategy early."

"Heather, what were you thinking?" Goofy asked, concerned.

"So much for thinking before acting, huh?" Harold deadpanned.

"Cough… cough… I didn't think it would turn this way," Heather moaned, after coughing, "What's this smell? Something roasting? Cough!" They realized that it was better to not to answer her.

"Anyway, we won, right?" she asked.

"Yes, you did it, Heather."

"Professor Xavier?"

Before she could seal the keyhole, she exited the Dark Depths to see what happened, still wobbling a bit, being helped by her friends. In the Grand Hall, there were the X-Men; Prof. Xavier, Scott, Rogue, Kitty, Evan, Kurt and Wolverine. Also, Gwen, Duncan and Sadie were there; Beast left them to return to Belle.

"That was a tough battle," Gwen said, sitting on the ground, her scythe leaning against the wall, "But the X-Men showed up and helped us."

"I'm so tired," Sadie said, fanning herself.

"You did nothing," Duncan retorted, "You just screamed during the entire battle."

"I was distraught!" she yelled at him. Duncan preferred to not reply.

"Heather, I must congratulate you for helping us." Professor Xavier announced.

"See, it's just as I told you," she smiled, "I'd have this issue wrapped up before you arrived."

"Our world is surely a mess," Scott said, "The Heartless destroyed everything…"

"But we can rebuild," a female voice completed him.

"Jean!" Scott smiled ear-to-ear when he saw the red-haired. He ran to her and embraced her, forgetting for once of all his concerns and preoccupations, forgetting from everyone else, just enjoying the reunion with her long lost beloved.

"I missed you so much," he said.

"I knew you'd come," she replied, and they embraced each other in a deep kiss.

Rogue smiled at her friends and said, "Now, I can feel it's almost ending. If we defeat Magneto, the worlds will be restored, everything will go back to the normal, including your country."

"You sure?" Heather asked.

"That's what my research leads to," Prof. Xavier said.

"But it also means goodbye." Kurt sighed.

"C'mon, we can still visit you," Harold said, cheerful.

"Uh, that's not the way it works…" Rogue cut in, glancing aside.

"You must know that every world was separated of each other," Kitty said, looking down, "If everything returns to the normal, the barriers that the Heartless destroyed will return."

"So, interspace travel won't be possible anymore, gummi ships will be useless." Wolverine completed, but he added with a hint of optimism, "But people can always think of something new."

"But don't worry," Scott said, still hugged to Jean Gray, "Even if we don't see each other anymore, we'll never forget."

"No matter where we are, our hearts will bring us together again." Kitty said, happy.

"Besides, I couldn't forget you even if I wanted to." Rogue said, crossing her arms.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Heather just raised her eyebrow. She heard some chuckles from behind.

"Now, go for it Heather, close the keyhole." Professor Xavier said, looking to the portal.

"Right!" Heather entered and pointed the Keyblade to the keyhole. The shining beam came out of the Keyblade, sealing the keyhole for good. Mission accomplished.

"Now, where do we go?" Heather said, as they left the portal.

"Go to Traverse Town," Professor Xavier said, giving her a box, "Ask for Dexter to install this gummi.

"What is this?" she asked.

"This gummi is a very different one. Mystique has been hiding from us in the castle," he explained, "After an interrogation, she decided to hand over the information, knowing that Maleficent is gone. She said that it was produced from pure darkness and it would swallow anyone that uses, but our analysis showed that there's no problem, it's just some story from her."

"Okay!" she then said to her teammates, "Let's go back to Traverse Town and rest for a while… sighs… I need a shower…"


	38. A Cup of Deceit?, pt 1

**A.N.:** And we're back! This episode will be divided in three parts. I hope you enjoy!

* * *

After the return trip, they were received with party. The news of Heather's continuous victories over the Heartless lifted up the spirits of all people over all the worlds, people were cheering for her and this seemed to renew the spirits of their respective worlds. Fewer Heartless were showing up, that's what the residents of Traverse Town could hear from worlds that weren't sealed yet while the sealed were living without problems with the darkness; to tell the truth, the town itself received less and less refugees. The Heartless were retreating thanks to the power of the Keyblade. And this attracted the attention of other people.

"Hello, Heather!" Chris MacLean saluted her, after she arrived in Traverse Town, and after the initial reception by Izzy, DJ, Geoff, Beth, Lindsay and Ezekiel. Before him, Izzy had smacked her down in happiness, something that the keybearer protested, but didn't mind much, because if she were to be used to have Izzy as a friend, she'd have to get used to that. DJ helped her to get up as a gentleman and was with her when Chris suddenly appeared.

"What do you want?" she replied, in an annoying tone.

"I have good news for you!" he said, with his casual plastic smile.

"You mean good news for you!"

"Yes, you're right!" he said, enthusiastically throwing his arms to the air, "You received an invitation! Chef!"

The cook appeared dragging a TV set by a cart, he turned on the TV and a familiar figure appeared: Hades.

"You!" Heather glared.

"Who is him?" DJ asked, a bit scared.

"What do you want, now? Maleficent is dead, shouldn't you be waiting for her?"

"Of course," he said, feigning indignation over her question, "I even prepared an welcome committee to receive such a celebrity to the underworld," he said, throwing confetti in the air, "But she never came," he shrugged, "So, I will have other business," he picked a paper and reading glasses, "As the sponsor of the Hades Cup, which transmission rights were bought by Chris MacLean," the host smiled wide, "You, Heather, the wielder of the Keyblade is invited to the Hades Cup, the biggest, baddiest and badassest tournament to ever take place in the Coliseum," he said, taking off his glasses after throwing away the paper, and smirked his slick smirk, "So, what is your decision? I know you want, right? Pure destruction and it starts in just five hours!"

"Did someone say 'pure destruction'?" Izzy popped in out of nowhere, beside DJ.

"Oh," the god of the underworld replied, "Lots and lots of pure destruction!"

"Izzy wants pure destruction!" she yanked Heather's arm and asked, "Can we go? Can we go? Can we go?"

"That's not the usual behavior I'd expect from a princess." Chris commented, feeling awkward.

"Sorry, Hades," she said, prancing, "But I have important business, like, saving the universe," Izzy looked down, very disappointed, "And besides, who do you think I am? Duncan?"

"What?" he replied, turning his flames from blue to red and also increasing their size, angered, "This is an offer you cannot refuse! My secret plan to make you fight against an entire horde of Heartless only to have you eliminated, humiliated if I can't eliminate you as a payback from all the suffering you imposed on me won't backfire!" Heather just raised an eyebrow. Hades, realizing that he just spilled his own beans, widened his eyes and took his both hands to the mouth in shame, returning to the blue color, diminishing his flames. Chris, on the other hand, only gasped, which meant his star wouldn't shine at Hades Cup.

"Excuse me, Heather!" Dexter said, "I was talking with Donald and he showed me the special gummi you got in Fortress Intolerance and, by superficial analysis, I'll take a lot of time to install and calibrate it in your gummi ship."

"Really?" the boy nodded. Heather then turned to the screen where Hades was and said, "Guess what, blue git? I'll enter in your game."

"Huh?" he mumbled, rubbing his ears, to see if he had heard clear.

"Yeehaw!" Izzy shouted, punching the air, "Izzy will see Heather laying judgment to all those who stand against Heathy!"

"Heathy?" Heather cringed, seriously reconsidering her friendship with the red-haired.

"C'mon we need code names!" she said, hyperactive.

"Look, Izzy, I know that you're… genki, but I think we can let it for later, now I'm busy… and, you understand, right?"

"Um…" she stared at the sky for a few seconds, rolling her eyes, in a kind of disturbing way, with one eyeball moving clockwise and the other counterclockwise and finally said, "Okay!" and she left.

"Sighs…Where do I sign?" she crossed her arms and started to tap her feet.

"In that case," the god of death re-plastered his smirk at his face, after staring dumbfounded at the hyperactive princess of the heart, "My helpers Pain and Panic will arrive to get you and your friends in three hours, better get ready, I want to make sure all your friends have a seat in the rows. I'll see you there… dimwit." And he turned off his signal.

"Heather," DJ politely called her attention, "That Hades-guy is obviously leading you to a trap."

"I know Deej," she said, turning to him and smiling, in spite of everything, "But that doesn't matter, I will show that cocky bastard that I can take on everything he sends against me. Besides, that will be some training for me," she then looked to the sky, "I think the final battle is coming short and will different from everything I saw before."

"Don't worry, I'll always support you." The jock assured her, placing a hand over her shoulder.

"Thanks, DJ." She smiled to him, placing both hands over his hand and they stared each other for a few seconds, without saying anything.

"Thank you Heather for accepting, and for preserving a good chunk of income to my assets," Chris said, breaking the moment among the two teens, "Let's go, Chef."

"I need a day off," the cook grumbled, but followed anyway, bringing the cart.

Heather just shrugged, drifting her attention from the two guys and said, "Let's talk to them, DJ."

After she explained to them about the Hades Cup, Gwen immediately protested, "But I don't want to go. We just returned from that crazy castle."

"I don't want either," Sadie agreed with her.

"Bunch of wussy girls," Duncan complained, "For me it's just fine, that'll be piece of cake."

"That Hades-guy will provide free ride to us," Geoff said, passionate, "He's a pretty cool guy!"

"He has yellow eyes, big mouth and shoots fire when angry," Beth remarked, "What makes you thing he's a pretty cool guy?"

"Free ride leads to free dorms and free popcorn," he explained, overenthusiastic, "There's no way a guy like him can't be cool."

"He is not Tyler," Lindsay said, pensive, "So he is not cool."

"You think I'm not cool?" Geoff asked, feeling a bit indignant.

"No, you're cool because you're not Tyler, who is not Hades and if you're not Hades so you're cool and…" suddenly Lindsay's head started to feel heavy and she started to get tired, "Are you Tyler?"

"No, not by the last time I checked," he replied; he also wasn't the brightest mind in the group, "Unless my cousin Steve changed my name again, like he did in the ninth grade, for Mazzeo. My cousin used that name to buy a lot of stuff from Paraguay… He said it was an internet store, he received a lot of boxes and stuff and he told me to never open the box, especially when my uncle Willy was nearby. Did I mention uncle Willy was a cop?"

"So you're Mazzeo and Hades is not Tyler," the blonde said, rubbing her head, "Who is-"

"Stop!" Noah cried, interrupting for good the conversation, "Stop! Stop! Stop! This conversation is killing my brain cells! If I combine both your brains, it would still be half a brain!"

"Uh, serious?" Geoff said, scratching his head.

"And that still would be more brains than the entire cast of _Jersey Shore!_" and he gave Lindsay a cheat sheet of all contestant of the reality show, "Here, when you forget someone, just! Look! At! It! Okay?"

"Okay…" she replied, unsure, while associating the names to the photos. "So this is Tyler…"

"Where did you get those photos?" Sierra asked, "They seemed familiar…"

"I got from you personal belongings," he replied, bluntly but inward he was afraid that she would be angry or do something with him, "They were used for the creation of greater good."

"Noah barged in my things," instead of being angry or something, Sierra was happy, leaping of joy, "OMG! This is _so_ going to my blog!" Noah didn't know if he sighed in relief or banged his head against the most nearby wall. For a moment, he decided that he would be nice with all people, to avoid karma punishing him like making him Sierra's boyfriend. Then he saw Ezekiel picking on his nose and lost again faith in mankind.

* * *

After three hours of waiting and half an hour of flying through the hyperspace, by Pain and Panic piloting a school bus with rockets annexed, with an 'X' painted over a symbol that read 'KND', they arrived at the Olympus Coliseum. Hercules and Phil saluted them at the entrance.

"Welcome back to the Coliseum, Heather." the demigod saluted.

"We appreciate that you'll join us at the Hades Cup," the satyr added, "That's gotta be the greatest tournament ever made in here!"

"I see," she replied, putting his hands on her hips, "So, what's the prize?"

"Well, I can't reveal," Phil explained, "That outta be a surprise, but I'm sure you won't be disappointed."

"But, isn't Hades planning something?" Harold asked.

"Uncle Hades gained authorization from my father," Hercules clarified, "To him, everything seemed pretty legit. But I guess I wouldn't be surprised if he pulls out some loopholes."

"Because he even invited everyone," the geek said, jerking his thumb at the ensemble.

"That won't be a problem, there are accommodations for everyone."

"I remember this place," Lindsay said, beaming, "Tyler was here."

"I hope we can find him, right?" Beth replied, nudging her.

"O!M!G! Look, Noah," Sierra squealed, rocking the bookworm back and forth, "Look at this world! Who knows what kind of awesome adventures we will have? ! I'm SO gonna put this in my blog!"

"You knew that 'adventure' comes from Latin and means 'without luck'? !" the bookworm replied with a question, that sounded as a very annoyed statement and mumbled, "Which accurately describes my situation right now."

"Great, I hope this to be enjoyable," Gwen said, meaning the exact opposite.

"I don't know about you," Duncan said, smirking, "But I like to gain prizes."

"Are you serious you're gonna go for it?" she raised an eyebrow.

"Of course," he replied, shrugging, "It's free anyway."

"I guess I won't go," she said, throwing her arms behind her.

"You know…" and he went to fill in the papers for his inscription. At that moment, Gwen heard someone hissing to her and turned her head, seeing a figure in the shadows. Recognizing the figure, she smirked and said to herself, "Perhaps I can change my mind."

After the time of preparation, the crowd started to fill the benches. The group from Traverse Town took a sit in a high bench, next to each other. There were also a lot of spectators, humans and many mythical figures, like centaurs, cyclops, and others.

"Where is Gwen?" Sadie asked.

"I don't know, eh," Ezekiel replied, sitting beside her and bringing a bag of popcorn.

"Perhaps she's in the bathroom?" Beth mused, "Duncan said he was going to be a contestant, but he went alone."

"Perhaps I can see Tyler again." Lindsay said, hopeful.

In the center of the arena, Hades stood up and, in a grandiose way, raising dramatically his voice and lifting both arms in the air, he started his inaugural speech: "The Coliseum is place for people to test their strength and to celebrate the living spirit of all of us! The unforgiving race for the first place, the struggle for excellence, all reunited here to compete for ulterior domination in the battlefield! Lots of people are here, but in the end only one will stand! Soooo, LET! IT! BEGIN!" And the crowd exploded in cheering.

The first match for Heather and his team was about to start. In one edge of the arena, there were three Soldier Heartless leading seven Shadows. With their yellow eyes, they moved along their side, waiting for the start. In another edge, there were Heather, Harold, Donald and Goofy.

"Only them?" Heather said, summoning her Keyblade in one hand, "That's going to be quite easy."

"I bet the incoming enemies are going to be tough, a-hyuck." Goofy remarked, picking his shield.

"That should be obvious." Donald said, twirling his staff.

"But let's get concerned about this later." Harold said, swinging his nunchakus and then lifting in the air, "For LeShawna!"

"For the King!" Goofy raised his shield.

"For Daisy!" Donald raised his staff.

Then, the three guys looked at Heather, they were curious to see to who she was going to dedicate. She crafted a smile in her face and lifted her Keyblade, bellowing, "For Mom!" With that the signal chimed, the battle had begun. Heather's team and the Heartless charged at each other. The first wave of Heartless was quickly disposed of, and so the second. Heather's team was progressing quickly through the first three rounds; Heather really changed her fighting style, instead of bossing her teammates around, she was acting like a leader, in a team where everyone was equally important. But the third round brought something new for them. In the opposite side of the arena, there was a certain goth scythe-wielding girl and the a certain goth mutant.

"Goth girl number one and goth girl number two," Heather smirked, holding down her Keyblade, "How appropriate."

"Rogue, weren't you at your world?" Harold asked.

"Yeah," she replied, "But Professor Xavier let us to go to the Hades Cup."

"That means your friends are here too."

"Precisely," she said, amused, cracking her knuckles, "I wouldn't want to lose for nothing this tournament."

"Now, Gwen, it's time for some payback," Heather said, taking offensive stance, lifting her Keyblade, "I will defeat you this time!"

"Oh really," she said, swinging her scythe, slowly spinning in the air, "We'll see about that."

"Donald, stay away from goth girl number two," Heather ordered before the match started, while taking position, "Goofy, Harold go for her, according to the plan."

"Roger!"

As the match started, Goofy and Harold charged at Rogue, but she was very slender and avoided their attacks, jumping out in a back flip, while Goofy tried to ram her with his shield and Harold launched his num-yos. Gwen took Rogue's place and swung her scythe horizontally, sending both back. Donald cast Firaga at her, but she cast Stop afterwards, freezing the fireball in the air, paralyzing also Harold and Goofy. Heather who was far away enough from the effect of the spell, charged at her with her Keyblade, slashing downwards and upwards. The goth took both hits before swinging her scythe and blocking her enemy's weapon.

"Do you think I'm idiot?" the keybearer asked, scowling, "I won't let Rogue absorb Donald again."

"And why do you think that she's going to him?" Gwen smirked. When the Stop magic faded out, Heather and Gwen were clashing blades far from the first's teammates and Rogue calmly approached from behind and placed her gloveless hand on her cheek. Heather screamed and kneeled.

"Let's see what this Keyblade of yours can do!" Rogue smirked and lifted her left hand. Light poured down around it and materialized into the form of a Keyblade, identical to Heather's, albeit without a keychain. Heather quickly got up, feeling her energy sapped by the mutant, who charged, brandishing her new copied Keyblade. She parried, noticing that her opponent had a fair strength, eager for more, Rogue attacked downwards and Heather parried again, having to step back and having to parry a lateral strike from Gwen. At that moment her teammates had arrived and Goofy protected her from another attack from Rogue and Harold and Donald dealt with Gwen, her scythe was blocked by Harold, who jointed for a while both the ends of his nunchakus and Donald who cast Blizzara on her, sending her away.

"Ha!" Heather scoffed, "Goth girl number two is not bad, but you don't have experience."

"Oh, really? How about this?" and Rogue pointed her Keyblade to them and cast Gravira. The black orb descended upon them, cutting their health, when it pressured them against the floor. Taking advantage of their distraction, Gwen raced to them, holding her scythe with one hand and, with a battle cry, she struck, slashing them with a powerful horizontal cut, sending the four of them to the ground.

"My nose!" said Harold, who stuck his face on the ground.

Donald was the first to get up and cast Cura on them. After they got up, Rogue charged again, against Goofy and Gwen against Harold. His nunchakus had no visible advantages against her big scythe and he only could dodge her attacks with his dancing moves; he could feel the scythe cutting the wind surrounding him, like a slow-motion sequence, she slicing downwards and he taking out his arm from the path of the blade, she trying to slice him in the middle and he dodging making a backflip. Gwen was annoyed, "Why can't I hit you?"

"I am one with the wind, and the wind shall blow you away!" he jumped to avoid a low hit by her and used his nunchakus to hit her right in the head, stopping for once her attack. She cried and took her hand to her eye.

"I'm sorry, milady," he bowed, politely. Taking advantage of her distraction, Heather used Sonic Blade and hit the goth seven times, in a speed almost imperceptible to the eyes. After the last hit, Heather posed in her front and she reeled a little before falling to the ground. The 'clang' sound of a scythe hitting the ground was heard and denounced that Heather had won.

"Now, that's a payback!" she said, adjusting her wig.

While their fight progressed, Donald and Goofy were busy with Rogue; the mutant proved to be an interesting match when Goofy tried to ram his shield against her, but she blocked with her Keyblade and lurched him against Donald; he seemed to trip on him, but managed to avoid the collision in the last minute and threw his shield against her and, at the same time, Donald cast Firaga not at her, but at Goofy's shield, sending a blazing projectile against her. She barely had time to react when the blazing projectile hit her. While she was startled, Goofy slammed his shield, making her to fly away and, while she was in the mid-air, she was hit by a Thundara cast by Donald, which paralyzed her for a while, allowing Goofy to run against her, hitting in an impeccable timing. The mutant hit the wall, barely unable to move due to the effort in the battle; she lost.

"How? … I was supposed to absorb all her strength and experience?" she moaned.

"It's because Heather has us," Donald replied, jeerking his thumb at himself, with Goofy nodded. Heather's team was victorious in that round.

"Congratulations, Heather," Chris MacLean said, entering in the arena with his plastic smile, "For having defeated them, I award you with this gem," he handed her a big dark-blue gem, "This will upgrade your Blizzard spell, use it with care, because there's much more to go!"

"Isn't it unsettling how he never stops smiling, ahyuck?" Goofy asked.

"Who knows what kind of atrocities he has committed?" Donald added.

"I can't believe I have to leave sooner than I expected…" Gwen moaned, using her scythe as a support; she was bruised and limping a bit, but looked at Heather and said, "Well, you won fair and square," she smiled, "That means we're even."

"For now," Heather smiled back.

"But, even if you outnumbered us, you were stronger than the last time.

"Why don't you train more," she narrowed her eyes, smirking, "and then we'll see who is the best in a _mano-a-mano?_"

"With pleasure," she replied and said, nonchalant, "Well, well, perhaps you're the one who will bring the light. I'm going to the benches, good luck." Gwen said, leaving away.

"You too."

"It means that you both finally bury the hatchet," Harold commented. Both rivals reached a point that such rivalry became friendly and noble and wished the best for each other, but that meant the dispute was over.

"Yes, Heather, yes," Hades said, pumping his fists in the air at his VIP seat, "Taste the victory while you can," and he threw his fists downwards, erupting his flames, angry, "Because I PLAN something really special for you! It's just the beginning! You SHALL not escape from MY wrath," calming down a bit, he looked at his side and said, smoothly, "and from your wrath!"

"Yeah, coach!"

* * *

**A.N.: **As I said, this episode was divided in 3 parts because I had just written the first part and since I'll have to enter in big hiatus, important college text, like 3 to 6 months, I wanted to publish it to let my mind clear and I considered that it was enough to have its own chapter as an introduction to the episode. See ya next time!


	39. A Cup of Deceit?, pt 2

**A.N.:** Well, long delay, but the chapter is finally here. It has some filler elements and may seen as rushed sometimes, but I digress: this story is almost reaching the conclusion (three chapters if I'm not estimating wrong) and it would be pointless to drag even more.

* * *

After fighting, lots of battles against Heartless, Heather's team still advanced in the finals. For some reason the Heartless flooded the tournament again, battling against a lot of them was getting tired. For creatures so afraid of the Keyblade, they never gave up. Perhaps fear was the main motive? Or there was another reason?

"Gwen, what are you thinking of the tournament?" Beth asked.

"I was spared from boredom, that's the truth," she replied, with a bored expression, leaning her elbows over her thighs, while resting her head over her palms, "Killing Heartless gets boring with the time."

"I think we shouldn't take them lightly," the glass-wearing girl said, "The Heartless have destroyed countless worlds, we shouldn't face this as a game!"

"Whatever…"

"Don't worry, Beth," Izzy said, with a lot of popcorn, hotdogs and lots of things that are sold in stadiums but for some reason that nobody could explain were sold in that ancient agrarian world, "Go, whoever is fighting!" she said and blew her vuvuzela, much to everyone's annoyance.

"Oh, look, isn't that Duncan?" Ezekiel said, pointing to the mohawk.

"Yes, that's me, happy to see?" he said, with a bag of water over his head and a black eye.

"Wolverine and Cyclops didn't go soft on you," Gwen said.

"Those idiots!"

"The bigger idiot was you, you went alone against them!"

"I had chances," he then looked to the arena, "But I expect Heather to crush them!"

"Oh, Heather is going to fight now." Lindsay said. Heather and her team entered in the arena. In the other side Wolverine and Cyclops waited for her.

"Hm, an all-around team, the point-haired is for short distance and the bozo is for long distance…" Heather said with a low voice.

"Are you ready, Heather?" Wolverine asked.

"Better than never," she replied, summoning her Keyblade, "watch out, everyone! Donald keep your distance, Goofy protect him, Harold use hit-and-run tactics!"

The signal sounded. Cyclops kneeled on the ground and shoot beams against Heather. She dodged, moving herself to the right; using her Keyblade she parried a slash by Wolverine, giving time to Harold slam them at him, but the mutant shoved the geek off, letting him to be hit by another beam by Harold. Donald summoned a thunder against Wolverine, startling him to give another chance for Harold; he swirled with his nunchakus, and Heather helped him, with a vertical uppercut with her Keyblade.

"I'll cover you, Logan!" Cyclops cried, emitting another beam from his visor. Heather deflected with her Keyblade, heading straight to Goofy; he also reflected with his shield, and the beam head straight to the origin; Cyclops was caught off guard when the spell turned against the sorcerer, damaging his visor. Wolverine got rid of the assailers with a spinning attack with his claws and returned to where his teammate was.

"Are you alright, Scott?" the beam mutant held his visor with his hands. Groaning, he said, "The visor is broken, if I open my eyes, I won't be able to control my powers."

"You think you can still go on?"

"I believe we can use this to our advantage."

"Okay, because they're coming again!" Heather and Harold approached by the flanks, while Donald and Goofy approached by the middle, slower than the former. Cyclops opened his eyes and held them opened for a good time, moving his head to the sides, hoping to hit one of them. Wolverine told him to aim in the middle to the left, trying to hit Harold, Donald and Goofy. Heather was someone that he wanted to take care.

"Now, it's time for our rematch!" Wolverine jumped at her path. His vicious lunges really were a match for the keybearer.

"Don't be a sore loser!" she replied, trying desperately to block his claws. One horizontal right slash, she blocked single-handed; one direct left slash, she dodged and tried to hit him; he blocked with his right and readied for a direct hit with his left; anticipating this movement, she jumped out, making him to miss at her torso, narrowly. She jumped out again, when he tried to thrust his claws once more, but this time, her Keyblade started to glow and, while she was in the mid-air, she tossed with all her forces her Keyblade at him. Wolverine grunted as the rotating blade hit, he felt that pain again. But the strike hadn't ended. Screaming, Heather jumped and landed a kick with both feet at his belly, sending him to the ground. When he got up with a jump, the Keyblade was already back into her hands, but then she pointed the tip at him and disappeared from his sight. A literal couple of seconds later, he felt something punching him in the jaw; he grunted as this something punched him again, and again and again; he was tossed in the mid-air and he could see Heather, holding the Keyblade with both hands, readying to hit him like a baseball player hits a ball.

"Oh, crud!" he whispered as Heather delivered a blow that made him fall forcefully at the ground, even creating a little crater. As if this weren't enough, Heather fell gracefully on his nuts.

On the other side, Harold had no problems to dodge Cyclop's beam and Goofy's shield could parry and deflect the beam. Donald launched a series of Firaga spells at his feet, making him lose concentration with all that smoke. This gave a chance for Harold to launch one of his num-yos, entangling him. With one last hit of Goofy's shield he fell to the ground. Donald sat on his back to ensure he wouldn't get up.

"Eh, that was anticlimactic…" the mage said.

With both fighters on the ground, the match was over and Heather had won. As the crowd cheered, they thanked lifting their arms.

"Hm, interesting…"

"What you say, Noah?" Sierra asked the bookworm.

"Heather surely evolved her skills," he said, stroking his quadratic chin, "From what I heard, in the first time, she couldn't stand a chance against him, in the second, she won with a lot of effort, but this time she defeated him without much problems. Does that mean her growth was exponential or her adversaries didn't evolve?"

"OMG, it's like she did a lot of level grinding in the other worlds and stuff!"

"Somehow I think this can't be the only answer..."

"I could go on…" Wolverine said, groaning and holding his crotch, "If you didn't use this cheap trick again."

"Ha-ha," she scorned, "Why do I need to defeat you when I can just immobilize you?" Indeed, the masked mutant felt angry, he was too stubborn, but it reminded him how he hated to fight against women.

"This is something that I'd expect from me," Hades said, "But, your match is not going to take much time."

"Yes, coach!" the figure from the shadows.

After some rounds against the Heartless, they were about to face another non-Heartless enemy.

"They said the next opponent will be someone named 'Hades' apprentice'." Donald said, waiting in the middle of the arena.

"Hades's apprentice?" Harold mused, "The title sounds like a good plot for a tragedy."

"Sounds more like someone who needs to be defeated." Heather said, nudging him with her elbow, "Now, focus!"

"Can't you be less bossy?"

"I need to keep you in the line, don't complain!"

The gates opened and the figure entered. He wore a huge armor, with shiny red pectorals, black shoulder pads; in the back, there was the symbol of an eagle; in his right hand, a magnificent spear, with a deadly sharp pointed blade in the tip; in his left hand, a glowing yellow shield; at his head, a Greek helmet, covering his ears and nose, yet letting the white of his eyes visible.

"You!" the voice boomed, "You will pay for humiliating me, Heather!"

"Tyler?" she said.

"Yes! I am Tyler, the one you humiliated! Now I have aligned with Hades, I am wearing the armor of Ares, God of War!" he continued, sure that he would defeat Heather and recover his rightful place at the top. "Now watch as I defeat you and your allies!"

"Oh, just great, why should he trust someone who is the God of Death?" Noah said, keeping his sarcasm in use.

"Because there was nobody else to trust?" Sierra pondered.

"That makes sense." Noah rolled his eyes.

"Where is Lindsay? She should be seeing."

"She went to the bathroom… three hours ago. Not big surprise, she must be looking for the flush or got distracted with a little butterfly and now she's following it through the entire coliseum."

"Eh, Tyler," she said, giving him an embarrassed smiled, "About that I'd like to talk with you…"

"Silence, you shameless little woman! Now, be gone!" he scratched his lance on the ground, making a hissing metallic sound and he launched a wave of energy against them. The blast knocked everyone away on their back.

"I don't think we should underestimate him, ahyuck!" Goofy said, "He is very angry!"

"I know." Heather said, feeling a bit guilty for the first time.

Tyler launched the lance at them, making a blast, knocking them away again.

"What are you doing?" Heather snapped, "Fight back!" Donald nodded and cast Fire magic against him. He blocked with his shield, as the shield erupted in flames. Goofy slammed his shield forcefully at him, but he blocked again, as Harold sneaked by behind, however Tyler blocked again, knocking the geek away with his shield and, after that, he tackled Goofy. Heather grunted and decided to use a practical approach, casting Ars Arcanum at him; she pointed her Keyblade at him, launching six beams of pure illuminated energy. Tyler just blocked with the shield and the blast lift up a cloud of dust.

Heather stood still, waiting for the dust to disperse. However, a beam of concentrated energy emerged from the cloud, hitting Heather in full force.

"Ouch…" she said, in the ground, as she saw Tyler approaching, holding the lance. He stopped his steps to face Goofy, trying to hit him with the lance; the royal guard captain proved to be a match, because his defensive approach parried all attacks, giving time for Heather to get up. The beam that knocked her away surely came from the shield, she thought. He managed to hit Goofy and lifted his lance to attack once more. But, at that moment, Donald cast lightning magic at him and the electric charge hit him by the tip of the lance. Tyler screamed in pain as the electric jolt passed by his body. Limping, he dropped his shield, but still had his lance in hand, and with the free hand, he clutched his throat. Taking advantage of his predicament, Harold kicked the shield out of the arena, while giving an opportunity for Heather to attack. But she didn't take advantage. After removing his helmet with one hand and tossing it to the ground.

"You won't defeat me!" he cried, scowling at her, his hair was a mess, but he still had his trademark red headband. He charged at Heather, who simply looked at him with pity. When he lifted again his spear against her, the lightning magic hit him again. He screamed in pain and he continued, lifting again and, one more time, the lightning hit him.

"Tyler," she said, abashed, "You've always been an idiot… but this has just gotten ridiculous." He finally learned from his mistakes and sliced Heather horizontally with his spear. She just closed her eyes and parried the spear with one hand. He was already too weak to hit her with force. She grabbed the spear from his hand and poked him to the ground with the lance.

"What! How was he defeated with so much ease!" Hades cried, flames popping up at his hair. He calmed down for a while and said, "Okay, Heartlesses you can have him."

"It's no use… I will never be strong!" he moaned, tired. Dark shadows started to surround him.

"Wak! The Heartless are going to consume him!" Donald said.

"Tyler," Heather said, now feeling desperate to save him, "I'm sorry, it's all my fault I shouldn't have said those things about you."

"It doesn't matter," his voice feeling faint, "Nothing you said was a lie. I'm good for nothing. Not even having the God of Death at my side can change a thing."

"Do you know that in this world there is white butterflies? Oh my gosh, they're so different!" Lindsay said in the crowd, returning to the seat, next to Beth and Gwen, and both seemed to be anxious with what happened in the arena, "Who's Heather fighting with?"

"Tyler." Beth replied as the shadows approached Tyler.

"Tyler? Wait, Tyler wasn't…" as if something cracked in her mind, "Wait, that is Tyler! And he is in danger!"

"Tyler, please, don't do this!" Heather screamed, feeling powerless to save a person that seemed to have lost the will to live.

"It's pointless." he said, as the shadows approached.

"No!" Lindsay entered in the arena, screaming, ignoring the shadows surrounding him.

"Lindsay?" he said, surprised, "What are you doing here?"

"I'm here for you!" she said, hugging him.

"You should look for someone that actually deserves you."

"I don't care!" she said, tearing her eyes, "The only that matters is that I finally found you, please don't leave me."

"But I'm not good enough for you."

"It's me who should be saying that. I'm the one who is stupid. It doesn't matter if you won or were defeated in this match, I will never let to believe in you."

"Lindsay," he said, tears streaming through his face, "Thank you, but I don't understand."

"Neither I," she said, smiling to him, "But I don't think this is something meant to be understood." With a smile forming at the jock's face, the shadows disappeared. Heather sighed in relief as the two reunited sweethearts walked away from the arena.

"I can't believe it!" Hades stepped in the arena, flames rising. Tyler just looked to the other side, as Lindsay frowned at him. Feeling so much contempt for his former apprentice, he didn't talk anything, only scowled disdainfully. That brat wasn't the biggest problem, siccing him at Heather didn't do anything, so now he would take matters on his own hands.

"What do you want?" Heather frowned.

"You defeated my lousy apprentice," he said, starting to accumulate fire at his own hands, "So I decided to take on you, punkette!"

"So, you finally decided to work, lazy bum!" she said, holding her Keyblade in offensive stance.

"You'll see the fire of a burning hell!" he said, throwing a fireball at him. Her team dodged to various sides, and he threw another fireball. Annoyed with the sudden and uncerimonious start, Heather decided to take the initiative, rushing at him; he just grunted and erected a barrier of fire, but she stopped and cast Aero on herself, to avoid the flames.

"Blizzard!" she heard Donald's voice casting the freezing spell at Hades, and he winced when the icy projectiles hit his overheated skin, creating a minor thermal shock. Harold launched his num-yos at his hands to immobilize his fire-throwing strike and Goofy launched himself at him, tackling with his shield. The god of death got angry and expelled them, making a fire barrier around him.

"Time to roasted duck!" he said, as he threw flames from his hand at the magic duck. He screamed and ran madly through the arena, trying to douse the fire. Heather used a healing spell on him, while Harold tried to approach again. Hades keep throwing fireballs at him, but he used his mad skills to dodge, having only slightly charred clothes on him. With a series of flips and backflips, he managed to snag a hit at his face, however this just angered him. His flames turned from blue to red and he started to spin, extending both arms, as flames were thrown by his hands in circles. The heat wave hit all of them, leaving burnings at their skin and clothes.

"It's good to know that idiot was useful to at least make you tired," Hades grinned as he walked to Heather and grabbed her by her head and slammed her against the ground. She winced, having a serious bruise on her forehead, as he continued, hands starting to accumulate flames, "Now I just wonder: they say hell has twelve levels, which one could I send you?"

"How about the frozen one?" Heather replied, placing the tip of her Keyblade against his chest, as her hair turned dark blue; at that moment, a cold breeze came from behind and a powerful ice beam came out of the Keyblade; the God of Death barely had time to scream as the beam dragged him through the arena; when he finally came back to his sense, he was frozen, immobile, his whole body, save his head, covered in ice.

"Grr… You won't defeat me!" flames turned red again and he freed himself from the prison. He threw a fireball at her, but Heather just knocked back to him. Startled by the unexpected counterattack, he let Heather take advantage along with her allies and she with her Keyblade, Harold with his nunchakus, Donald with his spells, mainly ice, and Goofy with his shield were, little to little knocking Hades back to the entrance of the challengers; screaming as one, they all slammed at the same time, sending him flying away to the darkness.

"You've got spunk kid," Hades said, trying to get up, "But I'm just starting!"

"KND: Battlestations!"

"Huh?" Hades stopped to see a bunch of kids, with really weird weapons arrive in the middle of the battle, his leader was a bald kid with sunglasses.

"That guy stole our SCHOOLBUS!" the leader said, pointing at him, "Get him!"

"Ha-ha! What a bunch of little kids can do?" he said, mocking them, but when they started to shoot garlic bullets at him, "AAAAHHH! I HATE GARLIC!" and he ran away from the kids.

"Eh, that was unexpected," Heather said, jaw dropped as her teammates, "But we won!" and the crowd cheered for her.

After a few battles, it was already night, the moon was full and the stars followed her, like they were cheering for the battlers with their blinks, even if in earlier times there were more of them.

Heather was about to face the final fight. In the lobby, Hercules and Phil saluted her.

"I'm impressed how a skinny girl and his team of misfits progressed so much in the tournament!" the satyr said.

"Very good, Heather!" Hercules clapped, "You have become really strong. But you also had luck at your side."

"Is that a bad thing?" she said, crossing her arms and raising an eyebrow.

"Actually, luck is also something a hero can count on. It's not only planning and strength, but luck is also a vital component of many victories."

"Good to know," she said, "Who is going to be the last challenger?"

"Let me have the honors to announce!" Hades entered in the room; he was in a wheelchair, helped by his two assistants, Pain and Panic, his body was almost completely patched.

"That group of kids did this to you?" Harold asked.

"No, I slipped on a banana peel and fell from a five-hundred meters on the Styx, and I fell on the rocks," he said, trying to not get angry, because it would burn his patches. "The point, Heather, I thought of everything." He said, a slick smirk forming at his face.

"What do you mean?" she replied, narrowing her eyes.

"The last one is a monster of unlimited power. And you have to fight it alone!" He waved his hand, showing the rules of the tournament, emphasizing the 'fighting the last boss alone' rule, "But I won't spoil the surprise." And he signaled to Pain and Panic to exit.

After he got out, Hermes, the Messenger God arrived, blue and wearing a white toga, he seemed in a good mood. "Hercules," he said, in a jovial voice, "I bring news from your uncles Ares and Poseidon: they are finally recovering fully and finally stopped to fight for the remote controller."

"Oh, really?" he said, and smirked, "Or do you come here just to watch the tournament?"

"Oh, Herc," he laughed, jolly, "You know I wouldn't lose for nothing the last match and besides, they stopped to fight over nitpicks, I forced them to watch that colorful pony show and now they're happy, although brainwashed is a fitting term, but they're happy."

"Hercules, what do you mean by this, ahyuck?" Goofy asked.

"Last month, my uncles got into a fight with something that simply thrashed them," he replied, a bit glum, "And I suspect that Hades had something to do with this."

"And that means I may be facing this 'something' in the last battle," Heather sighed, "It doesn't matter, if I have a chance, I won't waste it!"

After the last preparations were made, Heather stepped into the arena, now alone, though she could see her teammates in the crowd, waving to her along with the others. She winked at DJ, who was happily watching, trying to assure everything was okay. This monster, she'd heard, had defeated two gods: Ares, God of War, and Poseidon, God of the Sea. Presently unaware of the incredible danger coming for her, she waited with Keyblade held firmly at hand while she stared at the bars of the gate. Beyond them, for the moment, was nothing but simple darkness.

Then she heard the steps. They echoed and shuddered the ground, impossibly hard but otherwise normal footsteps. Something was coming...something _big_. Her heart skipped a beat, her mind briefly conjuring up horrible images of what she was facing, and then an enormous hand, colored an impossible shade of vibrant green, grabbed the bars of the gate from behind and tore it loose from the wall with almost no effort at all, tossing it away in a bent heap.

Heather stared. "That...that is..." The crowd remained silent as the monster strode into the arena on thickly muscled legs. It - or rather, he - was nearly three times her size, an immensely muscular brute that was apparently human and wearing nothing except for a pair of old and worn purple shorts. The monster's skin was completely green, all except for his short black hair crowning his scowling face. This wasn't a hulk. This was the Incredible Hulk.

The Hulk glared down at Heather and he roared, a snarling growl escalating into an impossibly loud howl like something from the deepest wilds of human memory and nightmare, a deep noise torn from the living breast of an unimaginably mighty behemoth that didn't sound in the least like something that should have come from anything that looked so human. The echoes were still dying down when he said "They send skinny girl to fight Hulk!", his expression contorting into a look that absurdly reminded Heather of a child about to throw a temper tantrum, and he smashed both of his massive fists into the earth, shockwaves tearing the ground open like a miniature earthquake.

"I...I've defeated bigger things then you!" Heather said, trying to stay unimpressed as she took an offensive stance with Keyblade held in both hands, but she couldn't quite hide a tremor of utter terror. She was intimidated; granted, there were many species of Heartless far bigger than the Hulk, but there was something... different about him, something that froze her bone marrow in total terror. Whatever he was, she knew he was not to be underestimated.

The Hulk snorted dismissively. "Skinny girl is a fool," the green giant snarled. "Hulk _SMASH!_" He jumped at her, bounding several dozen feet overhead, both fists held back overhead to build up momentum. Heather gulped and jumped back, narrowing avoiding getting crushed by him, and his impact still tore a crater in the ground, scattering dust and shards of earth all over.

"Wow… unreal…" Duncan said, "Just one hit and Heather is history!"

"Heather!" Harold yelled from the benches. "Be careful! Do not let him hit you!"

"Don't you think that's a little obvious!" Heather snarled, running as the Hulk jumped at her again and crashing into the ground where she had been, clearing trying to stomp her. _He's way too strong for a straight-up fight, _she thought to herself. _But I bet his speed sucks. He's a big strong guy, so he should be slow! _Unfortunately, as she ran to the other side of the arena, the Hulk broke into a sudden sprint and bowled her over like a falling avalanche, catching her up and swatting her away in a single swift blow.

She cried a small pained noise, hitting the ground and bouncing twice. "Ow... how can that thing be so _fast_?" she moaned. Something moved and her eyes widened, seeing his body blocking the full moon. She rolled over and missed getting hit from his jumping stomp again, knocked away by the dust and air his impact lifted up, and she quickly got up as the dust dissipated. The Hulk remained where he was instead of pressing his attack, crossing his arms and looking annoyed. "Weak skinny girl," He said, sounding increasingly impatient. "Hit Hulk already!" He even waved a hand towards himself, his mouth quirking in a faint smirk.

"Are you actually teasing _me?_" She said, her short temper flaring, and her familiar competitive spirit rising to the challenge. She took advantage of his lapsed guard and, adopting a hit-and-run tactic because she didn't know how he would react, ran past him and struck him in the thigh, running away before he could attack.

He didn't. "Hulk felt that," The Hulk mocked defiantly.

Heather smirked. "I'll give you something to feel." She pointed the top of her Keyblade at him and again used Sonic Blade, darting at high speed, and moments before she could have hit him, the green giant grabbed the Keyblade in mid-air, halting her attack and danging her in mid-air.

"Giant key can't hurt Hulk!" he said proudly, pulling the Keyblade closer to examine it further. Heather was dragged with it until she let go of it and dropped to the ground, summoning it back to her hand as soon as she was back on her feet.

"Ahn?" The Hulk said, understandably surprised as the key-like sword dematerialized from his hand without any warning. He warily turned his attention to Heather, and the only thing he saw was a spinning Keyblade that hit him right in the face with a _clang_ing noise. It almost echoed, and the Hulk clasped his face in his hands, partly in surprise, but mostly in anger, because that was just a cheap shot from a smaller person. But it wasn't over; Hulk didn't see Heather running at him, Keyblade still in her hands, and she jumped high enough to slam a blow into his thickly muscled belly with enough force to make him step away. She landed, directing one, two, three strikes to his knee in an effort to make him falter and fall. Her hair turned black as she summoned the pwoer of Gravira to help. The Hulk wavered, started to falter, until he narrowed his eyes and with a mighty roar grabbed the black orb and (ignoring all the laws of physics in question) grabbed the black orb and tore it apart with his bare hands. Heather tried to charge again but he slammed his fists into the ground in a move she just barely avoided, almost getting crushed. Genuinely infuriated, he threw punches that but thanks to her nimble physique she managed to evade them. Exhaustion showed on her face; every time she dodged one of those stone-pulverizing punches, she had to consider the next one and dodge that one, and she soon couldn't keep up with them all and one finally connected with her side, tossing her to the other side of the area. She hit the wall hard and slid to the ground, her side aching like her bones had cracked at the very least. She ignored the pain and tried not to scream, managing to produce a flow of curative magic that flowed from the Keyblade and down over her, healing her injuries and fixing her bones.

"Weak fox!" The Hulk bellowed. "Time to finish!" He stomped on the ground with enough force to smash it open like an earthquake and it hit Heather, knocking her to the ground again. The Hulk raced over to her, fast and as unstoppable as a natural disaster in the shape of a humanoid, and punched her. She didn't even have time to scream as she flew through the area again, this time mashing right through the entrance gate. The crowd waited for a moment, and then gasped in shock, seeing the Hero of the Keyblade being defeated without any trouble. In a way, the fact that she had actually hurt the Hulk was a victory in itself, but that didn't change the fact that she had been hit so hard that she was, at the moment, still flying and had in fact left the coliseum and eventually smashed into the ground. Her brain feeling fuzzy and the pain presently too deep for her to register properly, she laid on the ground and stared up at the sky with all her bones aching in a precursor to the real pain. She moaned, trying to move her arm and hearing something cracking. She winced and, afraid of the very worst, didn't try to move her neck. Even if it wasn't injured, she didn't want to take the risk. Bruises, she realized, were all over her body from the impact of that single punch.

How much worse would it be if she returned to the coliseum?

"Oh...hurts so bad," she moaned. "If I can't beat _him_, what are my chances?"

"If you can't run against other people, how are you going to run against horses?"

"Huh? Who's there?" Heather could see, by the corner of her eyes, someone wearing a black cloak. The face was hidden, but it sounded like a woman's voice.

The cloaked figure knelt down and put a gloved hand to Heather's cheek. At first it felt cold, but then grew much warmer, and somehow the pain stopped and the bruises faded, and Heather felt totally invigorated with even more energy then she had started the tournament with. She sat up to turn to her benefactor, still unable to make out her face.

The woman looked down at her. "Heather," she said. "This is a test. If you focus, you can pass. You can _win_. Remember, you have the Key that will open the door."

"Geez, again this talk," Heather said, with an uncommon friendly sarcasm. She summoned her Keyblade and looked to the coliseum. "I must go back," she turned to her benefactor and said, "Thanks… Where did she go?" There was nobody in her view, "Strange… sighs… The universe is full of weird people," she placed her index finger on her lower lip, "But she seemed so familiar."

Back at the coliseum, The Hulk was claiming his apparent victory, "Again, YOU NOT STOP HULK!" he boomed, raising his arms like an ape. Part of the crowd cheered, with Hades leading, in spite of his patched body, because he was the superior force and had proved his power; "Not even gods can stop Hulk!"

On the other hand, the majority was booing the Hulk, especially Heather's friends, and his ruthlessness was upsetting plenty of people. Harold even asked Hercules if the rules allowed this, and Hercules confirmed that all this was perfectly legal. For the first time, it seemed, Hades hadn't violated any rules whether they were official or not.

"Hulk smash!" The Hulk roared like a predator claiming his prey. "_HULK SMASH EVERYTHING!_" He clearly didn't notice the entrance gate opening, but he did notice the crowd going silent, and turned to see Heather standing there with a determined look on her face and the Keyblade in hand.

"What?" Hades' flames roared up, the death god utterly incensed that Heather was still alive and better than before. "You're supposed to be-" he stopped to look at the sides and quickly added, "incapable of fighting?"

"Look!" Lindsay said, Tyler at her side. "Heather's back!"

Gwen shook her head with a rueful smile. "Guess she's too stubborn to stay dead."

"That's actually the mark of a hero," Hercules said proudly.

"Skinny girl came back?" The Hulk said, astonished; he was sure he'd hit her hard enough to make her stay in bed for weeks, if she'd even survived. "Skinny girl should be weak!"

"You're nothing but an obstacle in my way!" Heather said, returning to the arena. "And an obstacle has to be passed by!" She lifted her Keyblade and approached, walking by the side of the arena.

The Hulk displayed an emotion other then contempt and anger: genuine upset. "Obstacle!" He snarled, slamming his fists to the ground. "Skinny girl doesn't know Hulk one bit!" He slammed his fists again, sending shockwaves through the ground and unsettling the audience. "_HULK SMASH!_" He jumped high overhead again, readying both fists to slam her.

"I won't run away," Heather said, holding the Keyblade with both hands like a shield, and struck the jade giant landed his fists as he attacked. The air around them basically exploded and the ground underfoot cracked, the Keyblade having parried the incredible power of the Hulk. His constant rage building, the Hulk smashing his fists against the skinny Keybearer, but no matter what he did she refused to give up, using all her might to hold her ground. The ground under her began to shatter, and the shockwaves tearing apart the air grew more visible, and the Keyblade still held ground against the fists of the mutated titan, his immensely powerful strikes absorbed by the etheral blade. He swung again, and Heather slipped the Keyblade out of his way, letting him clobber empty air, and hit him right in the jaw.

"Wow," Sierra commented to Noah. "Heather's nice but still a total combat pragmatist, el-oh-el!"

Noah nodded. "With a thing that big, you have to use everything against it and no, Sierra, goodness does not equal niceness. For heaven's sake, it's _Heather _we're talking about."

Startled by the sucker punch, the Hulk lost his focus for the moment and Heather pressed her advantage, striking at his jaw, since that seemed to be a weak spot, and she managed to get as far as another time before he shoved her off with her arm. She didn't falter though, and the Hulk thrusted her aside and she caught herself on the ground and leaped back to the attack. His temper finally breaking, the Hulk curled his thick fingers into a fist and roared "Hulk-"

"Stop!" Heather said.

"Punch!" The Hulk finished, and struck nothing but air. With a comical look of surprise, he looked around to the sides. "Huh? Where skinny girl go?"

"Right here!" Heather jumped at his back, entangling his neck with her legs and grabbing his nose with her right hand, the Keyblade held in right hand as she tried to equilibrate herself. The situation quickly dawned on the Hulk, as soon as it did, he got pissed off like a mad bull! And he reacted much like a mad bull, stampeding wildly thoroughly the area, struggling like a beast and wildly swinging in an attempt to grab her, generally just trying to make her let go.

Heather growled, "Will you chill out already!" Heather said, shoving her Keyblade into his mouth. The Hulk faltered, surprised. "Freeze!" Heather's hair turned dark blue, fired icy crystals right down his throat. She heard the gamma titan letting out a muffled groan as his head tilted, shocked and hurt. "Freeze!" She yelled against, the Hulk's pace starting to slow and his movements suggesting that he was getting dizzy, and she didn't give up, "Let's change the pace! Fire!" This time her hair turned a vibrant red as flames erupted from the Keyblade, and the Hulk's muffled scream was higher this time and genuinely outraged. A scent of something revoltingly charred made Heather wrinkle her noise in disgust, and the Hulk'd had enough of her. Now livid, he jumped and slammed his back against the ground, though Heather let go of him before his massive back could smash her and she took off to a safer distance; with his current level of raw anger, if she was too close he could easily crush her.

The Hulk got up to his feet, still roaring, and Heather watch his tantrum play out "Skinny girl stupid!" He said...and his scowl slowly turned into a please and defiant smirk. "Hulk kinda like stupidity! Nobody has ever hit Hulk like this!" He laughed a booming and hearty laugh.

"Oh, really?" she replied, "Congratulations, now you can get on with being beaten without getting all ashamed!"

"Hulk shame on you!" The Hulk stomped the ground, making a shockwave that threw a stack of earth at Heather and hit her. She flew away, letting the Keyblade go. He stomped again and Heather tried to dodge, but the homing crack in the ground was too fast, but she managed to avoid the next stack of earth and charged at the Hulk. As soon as she approached, the Hulk punched the ground with a fierce roar, making a wave of earth.

"What? How can he do that? ! Super strength does _not work that way!_" she said as the wave of earth almost swallowed her. She tried to cast Gravira at the attack and, somehow, the gravitational spell managed to slow down the wave, grinding it down to half its side and so when it hit Heather, it didn't do much damage but still covered her legs and stuck her where she was. It also gave time enough for the Hulk to approach her, winding back for another powerful punch.

Heather summoned the Keyblade to her hand and placed it between her advancing foe, casting Aero and hoping it would work as a shield. The hulk punched the Keyblade, and the impact was so strong that knocked her loose from her shackles.

Heather held up the Keyblade and growled, "Don't you get it? This thing is unbreakable!" She secretly hoped that it really was; it would totally suck if the Hulk really was strong enough to break it.

The Hulk shouted, "WAAUGH!" pulling his leg back for a kick and Heather readied her Keyblade for defense again just as the Hulk kicked, his attack hampered somewhat by her air shield. The block worked, but not without repercussion; she fell down and got up with difficulty, briefly winded.

"This has dragged on for way too long," She muttered, and when she saw him charging again with a fierce look on his face, she shouted, "Stop!" Her wig flashed and time stood still for her. Heather moved behind him and tried to attack, but time resumed and the Hulk was smarter than he looked and spun around, hitting her right away.

"Okay, so he not an idiot," Heather grunted, gritting her teeth and realizing she couldn't think of anything to defeat that monster. "Okay. Yeah. Gotta try something new." She concentrated, letting her instincts guide her and so the Keyblade started to glow as she pointed to the sky. Six beams came out of the Keyblade, every beam a different color, representing each magic she had collected. The first was light blue and hit the Hulk, lifting him in a whirlwind and he screamed as he was lifted up. A white beam hit him, time-stopping him and everything in it's radius in a single moment and rendering him immobile. Heather took the opportunity to point her Keyblade to him as red, yellow and dark blue beams circled her; in high speed, the Keyblade lifted her in mid-air and hit The Hulk repeatedly, and every time she struck the powers of fire, ice and lightning erupted: flames burst, ice crystals flew and lightning rained down. Dozens of time she struck him, the elemental attacks growing increasingly bigger and more powerful, until the last beam, one that was as black as the furthest reaches of space, hit him and became a massive dark sphere, engulfing him in a gravitational field ten times more powerful then anything he had ever encountered. The gravity sphere fought against that of the planet itself, grinding away at the ground and erupted in a black blast, the impact making an earthquake equal at least to any the Hulk's raw power had made, shaking the entire coliseum, and when it was done, the Hulk was lying down on the ground. Heather also landed, breathing heavily and so exhausted that she couldn't even open her eyes fully, and her hands were trembling uncontrollably.

"Okay," She whispered to herself. "That did it. It's done. I beat him."

She heard a rumbling noise, and a familiar green shape getting back up. Even after all that punishment, the Hulk was still moving, still undefeated, and still eager to fight.

Heather cringed and pointed the Keyblade at him, not feeling the forces for a more direct attack. She yelled, "Fire!" but nothing happened.

"Ice!" There was still no response. Belated, Heather realized that the attack had used the elemental gems she used to cast spells, depriving her of her magic attacks. She felt her legs go weaker and weaker like they were made of noodles, and she knew the enormous effort to gather forces to a single attack meant she couldn't go on. Even if her will was unbreakable, her body wasn't, and her knees finally started to bend. She wavered, and much to her surprise, The Hulk just smirked - almost _smiling _- and fell down a second before she passed out.

That was the last thing she saw.

* * *

**A.N.:** The fight against The Hulk was something I wanted to write since I planned this story and I had the help of HVK on writing this. And as a last good news, next year I will be doing grad school (mestrado here) EEEE! R&R!


	40. Interlude of the End

**A.N.:** I decided to publish this chapter to wrap up the plot of the last chapter. As the title says, it's an interlude and I thought it'd be better stop at the end. However, just a few more chapters and it's over!

* * *

"Augh…" Heather said, moaning as the darkness from a long slumber started to fade away, "Ow… where am I?" she asked.

"You're in the infirmary of the coliseum," DJ said, he, again stood beside her. "It's already morning."

"Ow… I did again, didn't I?" he just nodded, "This is what I gain for adopting a practical approach to my problems."

"You should stop using that much power, you twerp," Donald said, also at her side; only he was there, "Magic uses your own life force; if you use too much without constrains, your lifespan will shorten!"

"Okay, okay!" she said, sitting on the bed.

"Heather, I only say this because I'm a licensed magician," he said, trying to be sympathetic, "I know how those things work, and it's a source of concern related to you."

She just sighed, "This won't be a problem anymore. The magic gems that powered the Keyblade were used out to defeat that beast. I won't be able to use magic anymore."

"Are you right?"

"It's just an asset that I lost," she said, getting out of the bed, stretching up, "But it won't stop, not what I have to do."

"That's the spirit!" DJ said. And they went to the lobby of the coliseum. There, her teammates, Hercules and Phil complimented her. Besides them, there was a brunette man, with casual clothes, jeans and a yellow shirt.

"Heather, hero of the Keyblade," the man said, shaking hands with her, "I must thank you for saving me."

"But who are you?"

"My name is Bruce Banner, I'm actually a doctor, but not that kind of doctor," he joked. It took a while for them to understand he wasn't a medic. "You freed me from my curse."

"Which curse?"

"Some weeks ago, Hades found me and locked me into my alter-ego with a spell that could be broken only if someone defeat me."

"Wait a moment," her eyes widened in realization, "So you were…"

"Yes, I am the Hulk, you wouldn't like me when I'm angry." He joked again; again, he was in a very good mood and so he could allow himself to enjoy the ironies of his superpowered side. He explained he gained this power, or curse, due to a laboratory accident and told some of his experiences. When he drifted away in the space after the Heartless destroyed his world, Hades found him and made a deal to save him; the problem was that it was a deal with the devil, so he was forced to fight in the coliseum until someone defeat him. Even gods tried to defeat him, but he overpowered every single one of them (even Hercules was cautious to arrange a fight with him) but only Heather managed to defeat him.

"So, I guess… you're welcome." Heather said, kind of unsure.

"Now, I just want to relax," he said, sighing in relief, "And try to not get angry. See you later!" he waved, exiting the coliseum.

"Afraid of him?" Heather said, raising an eyebrow and smirking to Hercules.

"Oh, that is not the case," he replied, "I just had a busy schedule, so I couldn't fight with him earlier." Whether this was truthful or not, Hercules really was a busy person.

"A-MA-ZING!" Chris entered at the lobby, overjoyed. Chef Hatchet followed him, still with a grumpy face. Everyone just shifted a little or rolled their eyes. "The feeling, the intensity, this is top material, Heather!"

"Yada-yada-yada," she said, mocking him, "Can you get to the point?"

"The point is that you fought bravely and well," he said, his plastic smile starting to frighten her, that surely could be more terrifying than some Heartless, "And you will increase a lot my ratings! Now, go and claim your prize!" and then, almost as randomly he arrived, he left, "Chef, we have some editing to do!" the multitask cook just grumbled something under his breath and followed him.

Deciding, do what Chris suggested, Heather climbed the podium, along with her trustful teammates, Harold, Donald and Goofy, waving to everyone. The crowd cheered, and she could see even Gwen, Noah and Duncan clapping their hands, while Izzy blew her vuvuzela with all her might, annoying the hell of everyone surrounding her.

"Heather," Hades said, after clearing his throat, still patched and on his wheelchair, although now capable of moving his hands, "For winning the Hades Cup I give you this, the trophy of Hades Cup."

"Of course," she smirked in triumph, "Now give me my prize."

"The trophy is the only prize."

"Wait?" she frowned, "Are you telling me that I just win a trophy? And look, it's written 'You're winner is you', it's not even remotely right!"

"I could foresee even this possibility," he smirked, "This was a complete waste of time!"

"You know what? Stay with this stupid trophy," she said, tossing the gramatic-deficient trophy on the god's head. He cursed, but anything he talked was muffled by the metallic, but this wasn't Heather's problem anymore, "I hope Dexter has already finished his business, because I don't want to stay here, not even for a little longer!" she got out of the podium, stomping his feet, his teammates following suit.

After giving their farewells, everyone from the survivor former contestants entered at the X-Jet, they were kind enough to give them a ride to Traverse Town. Inside it, everyone discussed the events of the day.

"Yeah!" Izzy said, pumping her fists on the air, "This was totally awesome! I can't wait to see the next tournament!"

"There won't be next tournament," Heather said, "Not after I took care of Hades."

"Those tournaments are good opportunities for my mad skills."

"Relax, crazy girl," Noah replied, trying to cut out her enthusiasm. "You are a princess, you should behave like one."

"The day Izzy gets crowned," Heather said, "I want to be there, only to look at your incredulous face." Noah just frowned.

"Perhaps she is a rebellious princess." Sierra said, cutting in the talk, resting her arms over Noah's big head. He just moaned, wondering which girl was crazier. That was a riddle of the ages. "Kicking ass and ruling the world."

"Izzy is a princess, but not a ruling one," she waved her hand, dismissively, "Izzy is a princess who just wants to watch the world burn!" everyone gave her a weird look. "With LOVE!" she finished, grinning ear-to-ear.

"Sounds like a good idea!" Geoff said.

"I liked too," Lindsay agreed, clutching her arm to Tyler, "Isn't that wonderful Thuler? Everything we need is love!"

"Love is power!" Sadie said, almost squealing, "Right, Ezekiel?" she tapped his shoulder.

"Eh?" he seemed adrift on his thoughts, and didn't know what they were talking about.

"Oh, no. They will start to sing." Noah whispered to himself.

"And _that's_ how mankind perishes," Sierra said, guessing what he would say next, it wasn't far away from the truth, "C'mon don't be so grouchy!"

"What if Chris had forced us to sing? That wouldn't be good for my welfare."

"I'd just punch him," Duncan commented, casually, "Duncans don't sing."

"You? Singing?" Gwen chuckled, "That would be fun."

"No comments." was his curtly answer.

"How ironic…" Chris smirked, miles and miles away from where they were.

But they didn't have time to start singing, as they arrived in Traverse Town, using the warping system of the ship. They were there in less than ten minutes and exited the ship. The remaining X-Men didn't stay for long and returned to their world, without even exiting the ship.

Dexter also waited for them. As their friends returned to their lodgements, the engineer boy summoned Heather and her team, and Izzy came along as well, out of curiosity. His tiny stature was almost inversely proportional to the frown at his face. But he seemed to be in a good mood, though as he smiled and opened his mouth to talk.

"Dexter has finished the update!" Dee Dee cut in, jumping at the top of his head.

"Dee Dee! Leave me alone!"

"Sounds great!" Izzy said, in loud voice, "That means you Heather, you'll going to destroy the Heartless!"

"It seems that this is the case." She replied, sarcastically attesting the obvious.

"Let's make the preparations for your departing, tomorrow," Dexter said.

"But, tomorrow already?" Heather asked, bothered by the fact she barely arrived at the world and she had already tasks imposed on her.

"We mustn't waste time," Dexter answered, "The Heartless can organize a counterattack if we don't act fast enough, now that Magneto left Fortress Intolerance."

"Have you been exchanging messages with Professor Xavier?" Harold asked, casually.

"Why, yes," the boy replied, "Professor X also reserved places in the town's restaurant, he afforded this to you to have a last happy moment before the final battle."

"Hm, this surely is serious, ahyuck." Goofy said, "However we cannot waste this moment together."

"Don't worry, Heather," Izzy said, flunging her arm around the keybearer's neck, "You went through a lot of things, that'll be piece of cake."

"I hope so." she sighed.

Heather was tense.

In the restaurant, nobody seemed to be tense. She could see Sierra talking to Noah, she hadn't stop neither for a while to make words coming out of her mouth, while Noah listened to everything; the purple-haired girl hadn't noticed when he used a spell that produced an ethereal copy of him and he was playing in the arcade with Zorak and Moltar, since Space Ghost was still in prison.

Geoff danced in another arcade, with the dancing game. Sadie was the next in the line and Ezekiel watched them, hearing Sadie talking about the game and sometimes she fed him with a snack, shoving at his mouth, when he politely rejected, but she made it with a smile.

Lindsay and Beth also talked, discussing the fashion of the town, and Beth helped her to choose a song in the jukebox.

Duncan tried to ask for alcoholic beverages, using his false identity. The waitress, a short humanoid mouse named Monica didn't seem to be falling for his talk, however Gwen whispered something in her mousy ears and she grinned and nodded. Monica brought him a beverage in a shot and he drunk everything in a gulp. However, he screamed when he realized that wasn't whiskey or other beverage, but concentrated pepper sauce, zero of alcohol, but with a lot of ardid. Gwen contained a laughter and gave him a cup of water. The problem is that water actually increases the effect of the ardid, so Duncan screamed even more, making everyone next to him burst in laughter.

Harold laughed at Duncan, as he reviewed his adventures with Donald and Goofy, and he took opportunity to hear more about their world, to think that they could be so different, while Izzy listened their conversation, sometimes making a weird comment. When they asked about her past, now that they knew she was a princess, she just said she didn't remember.

Everyone seemed calm, it didn't look like that tomorrow would be the beginning of the end, the final attack at the Heartless homeworld. This was what concerned Heather, because tomorrow would be the last sortie. She couldn't relax.

"Heather, please relax." DJ said, taking her hand. In the meantime, he didn't let her alone in the night, always beside her.

"DJ, you're not my mother," she replied, "And are you holding my hand?"

"Oh, sorry," he let go.

"Ah, don't worry," she said, blushing and turning her head to the other side, "It's not like I don't not like, but… I'll let pass for this moment." She said, not sure on how to deal with her feelings now, keeping her haughty personality was getting harder as the time went on, and most of the boys she had as interests were different from DJ. He was so… gentle.

"Why don't you make a speech, Heather?" Harold said. Heather just frowned, and the crowd started to chant "Speech!" so she didn't have much of a choice.

"Just because I am the leader," she said bitterly. DJ smiled to her and she gained some confindence as she got up from her chair and said, after clearing her throath, "I don't know even where I must start.

"The Heartless were, until some time ago, something that couldn't be stopped, as you know. But they aren't invincible. This will end tomorrow, because we're going to attack the Heartless homeworld, to stop this cycle, this cycle that doesn't change." She, to tell the truth, wasn't sure about what exactly she talked about, but the others paid attention to her and Noah took advantage to return to his seat next to Sierra, discarding his ethereal copy without warning her.

"Change is something that we must follow for good. I realized how much I changed after the end of my world, I've never expect any of these. How could I know? But now we will change forever the story of all worlds! Tomorrow Magneto and his Heartless are going down!" everyone clapped and cheered, feeling their hopes invigorated.

And the same people were again at the entrance of Traverse Town in the next morning. Heather, Harold, Donald and Goofy were followed by Gwen, Duncan and Sadie, the only ones with battle experience.

"I still can't understand why Izzy can't go?" the red-headed said, "Izzy shall make a kung fu of the Heartless!"

"You can't kung fu a Heartless." Harold replied, "Actually you can, but we still think you shouldn't go."

"Izzy, remember that it's better this way." Heather said.

"Aw, no fun," she looked down, but then she smiled, "But remember to deliver justice! And return my lucky charm!"

"Don't worry!" she replied, with a faint smile.

"Why, Ezekiel, why?" Sadie said, crying at the prairie boy, almost using him as a handkerchief, "This is so sad, sad!"

"But you'll be going with them, eh?"

"I know, but even so I feel so sad," she cried some more, even she knew that the last battle was about to happen. And she would be part of it.

"The ship is ready." Donald said, and they waved as they entered. Their friends waved as well, giving them the farewells, hoping to see them soon. Before Heather could enter, she gave a last glance to the remaining people. She looked to DJ, walked to him. Still not sure of what she would do, he looked at her, quizzically. She looked to the ground and then quickly lifted her head, grabbed him by the collar and gave him a kiss on his lips. The audience aw'ed as she let him go and returned as faster as she could to the ship. Still dazzled by the surprise kiss, DJ shouted "I'll be waiting for you!" and, still being a proud girl, she didn't look back, however her teammates could see her smiling.

Entering in the ship, everyone was already at their seats, and Harold chuckled and was about to say something, but Heather slapped the back of his head, saying, "Focus and save your energy to Magneto."

"If she keep doing that," Duncan said, "She'll certainly have my respect."

"Punks…" Gwen just rolled her eyes.

"Next stop," Donald said, as the ship traced the route of the next world, and the duck read the words that the computer formed at the screen, "The World Of The End!" and the royal gummi ship entered in the portal.


	41. The Source of the Darkness

**A.N.:** New chapter! This covers the World of the End. The original title never made much sense for me, so I changed. I hope you like it, now it's just one chapter!

* * *

The voyage through the subspace was tranquil and quick. As the view cleared, they realized that they approached the World of End. A sick purple tonality surrounded the space next to them, instead of the usual black. The purple space seemed to be effect of all manifestation of the Heartless, amassed at their homeworld. Silence reigned, yet they could still feel the presence of their darkness.

"I-I'm scared." Sadie said, clutching to her wand, feeling despair trying to overwhelm them.

"Not a nice place for a picnic." Duncan commented, trying to look dauntless, but he was just as concerned as anyone.

"Better stay alert." Donald said, eyes fixed on the screen. A purple mass stood in their way. This was the homeworld of the Heartless. This was The World Of The End.

"Look at that," Gwen said, "It looks like someone glued a lot of worlds together and formed that." By what they could see, there was a lot of different buildings, some looked like huge skyscrapers, others gothic cathedrals, others plain houses, trees of all types, both from tropical and tempered worlds. Everything purple, representing their downfall to the darkness.

"They should have a lot of superglue." Harold said, earning a slap from Heather.

"What do you think that'll happen if the destroy Magneto?" Heather asked.

"Remember what Scott said," Donald said, "Perhaps the worlds will be restored."

"And voyages between the worlds won't be possible anymore."

"Well, it's. uh…"

"Whatever…" Heather drifted away her look from the world and sat down at a chair, "Let us go down there."

"Heather, aren't you preoccupied with what will happen?" Harold asked.

"What are you talking about?" she replied, glancing at him.

"You know, people don't seeing each other anymore, not to mention to what will happen to this world."

"Don't know, don't care."

"Heather, don't be such an idiot." Gwen said, annoyed with her attitude.

"Weird goth girl, this is not your business!"

"Of course it is!" she replied, raising her voice, "I'm here on my own will, so it's better you start to act as if you care!"

"Oh, really?" the keybeared rose from her chair, "So what? This is nothing but my job! It doesn't matter, it's the end! Accept it! _Finito_!"

"So, why don't you accept it too?" Duncan said, nonchalant. Having some experience in deceiving people due to his legally-questionable activities, he could see that it bothered Heather that the possibility of everything end there.

"Shut up!"

"Um, Heather is not wrong," Goofy said and everyone turned to him, interested to see what he'd say, "It really doesn't matter, ahyuck. We're connected through our hearts, so it doesn't matter if this place goes poof or we don't see each other anymore, we'll always be together."

Goofy's words of wisdom helped to cool down the spirits. It was really impressive how, in spite of his lack of intelligence, his heart was sincere and well-meaning. Donald always wondered why the King had put him as his captain. Perhaps this was the reason, the King wanted a military not for destruction, but to keep the peace; and their world was always peaceful.

Heather just sat down again, not wanting to talk anymore. She didn't want to admit, but she didn't want the journey to end, after all, she learned so many things. In spite of that, the journey had to end. She could only hope the next journey to be a better one.

"Starting landing procedures!" the Chip and Dale said at the same time. They were landing.

**The World Of The End**

The ship landed in a cave, with an opening at the top, big enough to accommodate the royal gummi ship, allowing them to exit the ship. At the horizon, they could make out where they were: the cave was an island, and there were some isles, with treasure chests, leading to what looked like a purple sun. This was really a weird place.

"I guess the usual rules of physics don't work here." Harold observed.

"Do you think they were expecting us?" Gwen asked, summoning her scythe, just in case. Duncan unsheathed his sword and Donald gripped on his staff.

"I don't know, ahyuck." Goofy said, hiding behind his shield. Sadie was beside him and shivered.

Heather, being the leader, was the first to advance. She stepped carefully on the water, creating little waves. However, she didn't sink. "It's clear, move it!"

The group of seven warriors walked through the weird water, resembling the legendary seven samurais of the stories of the Japanese lore. Instead of a village, they were in the service of the entire Heartless-free universe.

Nothing could stand in their way, not even nothing.

"Ouch!" Harold howled in pain.

"What happened?" Donald said.

"I crashed my face," he said, leaning on the invisible barrier.

"Sounds like this place have more tricks than we expected," Heather said, "Be careful, try to find the way using your weapons." And they walked carefully, using their weapons as canes. Finding a way wasn't hard, and they landed on an isle, containing one chest.

"What is this?" Heather said.

"A treasure chest, this should be obvious." Duncan said, rolling his eyes, and moving next to it.

"What are you going to do?" Harold asked.

"Open it, what else?"

"You punk, don't you think it could be a trap?" Heather cried, angered by his attitude, but it was too late. He already opened the chest and suddenly a dark orb enveloped the isle. From the darkness in the ground, emerged various figures: humanoid Heartless, with dark wings behind their back, wielding steel swords and having what looked like a hat over their yellow eyes. They were the Invisibles.

"Watch out!" they had erratic movements, rather unpredictable, as Heather discovered; she tried to hit one of them with her Keyblade and the Invisible just swept away, as Donald cast Fire, and he also dodged, though Duncan hit it with an upward slash. They continued their attack, Gwen used her Sharp Barrier techinique, and managed to fend off their attacks for a while, but she was immediately stopped by another new type of Heartless: it looked like a glass, with wings, with a big Heartless symbol at its front, the Angel Star. It shot energy orbs at them. Sadie shielded them, with a barrier and Goofy blocked the Invisible's attacks.

"They're fast!" Goofy said, as he kept blocking the attacks. At one moment, one of them sunk its blade on the ground and became a purple smoke. While Harold was busy, dodging another Invisible, the smoke approached him and exploded, sending him away. Donald used a curative spell and restored his health.

"We need to think a lot more than this!" Heather said, and she pointed her Keyblade, casting Ars Arcanum at them. One Invisible was hit by the beams and promptly vanished to the original darkness, while another was hit and shot down. Goofy slammed his shield at him, destroying it.

"Now it's time to get serious." Duncan said, placing his lighter under his sword. The sword started to catch fire and he fought with another Invisible, knocking its blade and kicking away, to Gwen, and she just sliced it in two. But Duncan hadn't finished; he jumped at the Angel Star and plunged his flaming sword right at the Heartless symbol, defeating for good.

Without any danger, the dark orb vanished and the sky returned to its disturbing purple tonality.

"And, Duncan," Heather scowled, "Don't try nothing funny anymore."

"Geez, relax," he said, shrugging, "We defeated the bad guys."

"I don't want to go on unnecessary battles anymore!" Heather snapped, "The less battles we go, the faster we finish this! Now move and don't touch anything!" she said, walking to the end of the way. Still tapping the invisible walls, they didn't touch in any treasure chest in the other isles. Avoiding the isles, the way returned to its silence and silence reigned until they arrived at a fissure.

"Go!" Heather said, nudging Harold, signaling for him to eavesdrop by the fissure. He kneeled and crawled there: he saw a floating platform and a Behemot Heartless standing guard. It, apparently, wasn't aware of Heather's team presence.

"There's a Behemot under there."

"Drat!" she said, "Those things are hard to take down. But I had an idea," she looked at Sadie and called her, "Let us summon Diego and Woody to attack first and then everyone jumps at him, okay?" the chubby magician nodded, however she was still scared, "Stay in the rearguard after summoning," Heather said, noticing her uneasiness and she nodded.

Heather lifted her Keyblade and Sadie her wand and from two portals, Diego the saber tooth tiger and Woody the woodpecker exited from their portals. Seeing their enemy below them, they jumped, Diego preparing his knife-sharp claws and Woody his drill beak. The massive creature was caught by surprise when claws and a beak started to tear its back.

"Go for the horn!" Heather shouted and the summoned entities got her call, directing their efforts to its weak spot. The creature started to struggle, but without avail, the howls of pain and frustration started to echo. They attacked until they started to fade away, showing their time on this round ended, but they had done their job.

"Let's go for it!" Duncan said, preparing for the next part of the plan, igniting his sword with his lighter and he jumped at the creature. For some reason, the fire didn't burn him, magic perhaps, however it didn't matter and the ignited sword sliced through the horn of the creature like a hot knife in the butter. With its horn cracked, the creature fell to its knees, dissipating into the darkness. The team stared in surprise on how that enormous beast had fallen so easily.

"What?" the punk said, indifferent, "Sometimes, it's just that easy." Not commenting a thing, the team continued. For their convenience, there was some sort of stair, made of floating platforms, which in turn were made of rocks.

"This is surely very suspect, ahyuck," Goofy said, as they continued their descent. The gorgue was enormous, and the descent could take a while. However, they could see the shiny, faint light in the end of the stair. Where there was light, there must be good things, especially in that darkness-filled world.

Suddenly, a form materialized over their heads. An Angel Star Heartless, flying above them. Heather tried to use her Gravity magic, but, when she pointed her Keyblade, nothing happened. Then she remembered that she couldn't use magic anymore. She cursed inwardly and ordered, "Take that thing down!" Donald and Sadie pointed their staff and wand to it, firing fireballs at the creature. It faltered in the air, but it seemed to get angry and flapped its wings. The team held onto the ground, rocks, anything that could help them resist the whirlwind.

"Gosh!" Harold cried, holding to a rock, "That's a windy situation!"

"Spare me!" Gwen replied, annoyed, but screamed in shock when the whirlwind took her. Her teammates watched in despair as the wind dragged her away. However, she didn't give up: she threw her scythe at the creature with so much force that it hit right in the middle of the Heartless emblem. The creature broke into pieces and the wind stopped; Gwen resumoned her scythe and used it to plunge under a platform, before she could fall in the abyss.

"Okay, Gwenny," Heather said, "I must admit that was… good."

"Sighs… why don't take me out of here?" Gwen said, hanging on her scythe. With a help of Harold, Goofy and Duncan, they rescued Gwen from her predicament and they followed the path of floating platforms and ways carved in the rock.

"This is way too easy." Harold said.

"What do you mean?" Sadie asked.

"Don't you see?" the geek replied, "Why there are so few Heartless in the way? If this is their homeworld, this should be crawling with those things."

"Harold, don't jinx it." Duncan said, glancing irritably at him.

"I'm not jinxing, why don't those things appear at once?"

"It's better we ready our weapons." Donald whispered to Goofy, who nodded in agreement.

"Why don't scream for the Heartless and paint a giant target at the back of your shirt, Harold?" Gwen suggested, also summoning her scythe.

"You don't understand, there must be something wrong!"

"There is _always_ something wrong, Harold! Especially with you around!" Heather said, slapping the back of his head, and summoning her Keyblade, "Especially in this hellish planet! Stop complaining and stay focused!" Suddenly, three Angel Stars flew to their direction, "Like that." Heather commented, deadpan. The flying Heartless started to shoot energy balls at them.

"Gosh!" Harold said, as one blasted next to them.

"We don't have time for this!" Gwen cried, as she blocked one with her scythe.

"Run!" Heather ordered and they sped up and descended to the light in the end of the gorge, trying their best to avoid the shots. The Heartless kept tracking them, with more Shadows on the run for our heroes.

After a few minutes of sprint they finally arrived at the portal of light and immediately stepped in, not really caring to where it would lead them.

"Where are we?" Duncan asked, after opening his eyes.

"This place is familiar," Heather said, taking a good look at the surroundings. Box crates were piled up in the corners, the walls were dark blue and the lampposts flashed. There was no visible exit.

"It's Traverse Town!" Both Donald and Goofy commented, amazed by the fact they had returned to their starting point.

"This can't be Traverse Town." Gwen said, holding on her scythe, "I wouldn't be surprise if it's an illusion."

"Gwen is right," Sadie said, and then pointing her wand, "But I don't think those things are illusions." Shadows, Soldiers and Air Soldiers emerged from the shadows of the ground. As the team readied their weapons, the Heartless came. Heather, Gwen and Duncan took the forward and slashed through the vanguard, while Donald and Sadie used their magic attacks from a longer range to deplete their numbers, while Harold and Goofy didn't allow them to attack the flanks. After their contention strategy worked, the Heartless numbers quickly fell.

"They weren't strong ones," said Duncan, sheathing his sword.

"Not really." Harold nodded.

"Do not commemorate victory before the right time." Heather said, trying to cut off any excess of confidence they had. She knew this wasn't going to end soon.

At that moment, a portal appeared in the middle of the district. Feeling that there won't be any other way to move forward, they entered in the portal. And they arrived at a town. Certainly it was an illusion from the Heartless, a copy of Nowhere. The Heartless, Shadows, Soldiers and Fat Bodies appeared to stall the team. However, the team surpassed yet another wave of Heartless and the portal appeared again. This was a series of portals, since the next one was Amazonian Plateau, and then the Coliseum, Far Far Away, Atlantica, Halloween Town, Glade of Dreams, Fortress Intolerance. All types of Heartless tried to stop them, however they worked as a team, as one heart, and, no matter what, there was nothing that could stop them. Until now.

After they passed through the last portal, they were in somewhere, where the floor didn't exist and they floated through the sky. Heather remembered from when she flew freely in Glade of Dreams and it seemed this new area allowed everyone to do the same, taking a while for them to get used to the new ability. The only thing that they could see was a mountain, a volcano to be more precise and something emerged from the crater. From there, a cybernetic giant android walked out. In entire argent armor, the robotic creature had its metallic limbs attached to the main body by wires and tubes; in the center there was a huge cannon and it gleamed as much as its eyes.

"[=I am the Sentinel, I mustn't allow any light servants to cross the door to door to the darkness=]" the robot bellowed.

"What?" Donald said as the machine charged its chest with an incinerating beam. The team narrowly avoided the shot. However it didn't end; the robot stepped out of the door, stepping in the free dimension; its thrusters at its back roared to life and he started to pursue them. First, it shot Gwen and Goofy with beams from its eyes. Then it kicked Duncan with such force, he went flying away; a pair of machine guns emerged from its shoulders, hitting Donald and Harold. The cannon at its chest charged again, aiming at Heather and Sadie.

"AHHH!" Sadie screamed, waving her wand to create a barrier that was able to withstand the beam. However she was stunned, and didn't know how to react. Heather gritted her teeth in anger; that robot was thrashing them, she had to do something. So, she summoned Starfire.

"Starfire here, how I-WAHH!" she barely had time to introduce herself before the robot punched her. In anger, she reacted with the same token, aiming energy shots at the robot. The shots scratched the robots and he didn't realize that the others used the opportunity to get back.

While Starfire attacked its head, Gwen approached from one of the machine guns at the shoulder. The machine took at point blank. Gwen shouted "Stop!" and the weapon froze, while Gwen used her scythe to hack at the weapon, to move the barrel to where the head was. After the magic effect fade away, the machine gun hit its own body.

Duncan used his flaming sword on the other machine gun, slicing off from its support. However, it was replaced by a new one, but before it could fire at him, Harold used his num-yos, to make it aim at its own body. The machine gun shot again and little explosions could be seen.

At that time, Starfire's time had ended, but she had made a good mess in the head of the thing. While it charged its laser-eyes, Donald used the ice magic at the moment right before shooting. The robot cried as one of its eyes exploded. The second shot was aborted but only for a few moments, however Goofy used his shield to defend from the weaker shot and redirect against itself. As long as they kept him from fire its main chest cannon, it would be alright. They attacked with weak yet efficient attacks, damaging its armor plate and circuits. This took a long time, but they managed to make the robot consider its options. At that moment, something emerged from the chest, what looked like a new form of Heartless, just a puffball with yellow eyes. As it disappeared, the robot shut itself down.

"We won?" Sadie asked.

"Seems so," Donald said.

"Okay, let's go through that door, let us not waste time." However the robot reactivated itself again and the new feature was that its eyes glowed red; machine guns emerged not only from its shoulders, but from its entire body. The cannon at its chest also glowed red.

"[=Berserker mode activated!=]

"What? How could this be?" Heather asked, incredulous.

"My hunch is that Heartless thing was controlling and restraining it to direct better its powers," Harold explained, "And somehow, the absence of a controlling mechanism makes it let loose without control."

"Oh, just great…" Heather moaned. To make things worse, the Sentinel aimed a flurry of missiles at the crater; the impact destroyed a part of the crater, however not completely.

"If he destroys the crater, we won't be able to continue," Goofy said, "Because that seems to be only exit from this area, dimension, ahyuck… don't know what this is, truly."

"If would be better if someone stays to defeat the thing." Duncan said, nudging at Gwen. The robot readied the second salvo of missiles.

"Time to do something stupid." Gwen said, as a small smirk formed at her face.

"What are you talking about?" Heather asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Heather, Heather," Gwen said, after sighing, "I guess, no matter what, no matter how we complain, you really are the most important member of the team, with this giant key from nowhere…"

"I don't deny anything you're talking," she replied, "But what is your point?" The Sentinel had fired more missiles, this time it would destroy the crater for good.

"You'll see," Gwen picked one of the white gems of her hourglass and tossed to Sadie. The magician's apprentice grabbed it without a clue to what to do, as Gwen's hourglass started to glow, even brighter than before, and she said, "Ultima! STOP!" and the blink covered the entire area.

After Sadie opened her eyes, she saw that everyone and everything was immobile. From the Sentinel, and its missiles, the exhaustion was even seen stopped in the mid-air, to Heather and the others, everyone wasn't breathing. It was like she was in another dimension.

"The gem protected you from the effects of the spell," Gwen explained, "We still have thirty seconds, so you must do quickly, Sadie."

"Do what?"

"You must have a teleporting spell, right?"

"N-no."

Gwen's smirk faltered, but she didn't give up, "So it's time for improvisation. We can't give up!"

Sadie looked down, but quickly lifted her head, "If Heather's key is our only hope, my hope to see the rest of my friends and Katie, and I'm not willing to let it go." She pointed her wand and started to wave it. Not sure of what would happen, a faint green beam came out of the wand and enveloped Heather, Harold, Donald and Goofy. The beam turned into a circle and it brought them inside the volcano.

"Phew… I guess I did." Sadie said. At that moment, the effect of the spell wore out and the missiles sealed down the entrance.

"What happened?" Duncan said, clueless.

"We did something stupid, Duncan." Gwen replied, flatly.

"I expect those things from me." The Sentinel looked angry at the three remaining warriors.

"Now we will finish this!" Gwen said, brandishing her scythe. "We will accomplish our destinies and help to save the universe!"

"I know we can find a way out here!" Sadie said, waving her wand. "But first we must take this mean robot down!"

"Thanks what I'm talking about!" Duncan said, igniting his swords. "Time to scrap this junk and accept our glories!" And they charged with a mighty scream as the robot charged its main cannon. But they wouldn't let the enemy take the advantage, not at all.

"AH!" Heather returned to her senses, startled by the abrupt change. "Where are we?"

"I don't know, I'm just as numb as you guys," Harold said, shaking his head.

"Maybe Gwen and others stayed behind to fight that robot?" Goofy asked.

"But we must go back!" Heather said.

"It's impossible," Harold replied, looking above, "The rocks are blocking the way."

"And it was their choice," Donald said, "We can't do anything… and are you concerned with them?"

"Stupid weird goth girl!" she muttered, storming away. The others followed through the corridor, knowing that Heather needed a time alone. Even if she tried to deny, she cared with them, even Gwen.

It took a while to arrive at the end of the corridor, its ground gleaming green and the walls, purple; they seemed to be melded with something. A huge door, with the shape of the Heartless symbol stood there. The door glowed and shattered, revealing a passage to yet another unknown area. Heather shrugged and walked into the portal.

However, it was just a curtain. They entered in another room. In spite of the chaos of the world, there was a serene sensation in that room, as bioluminescent plants crept through the ceiling; there was also some fountain, the sound of water flowing through it really was a soothing atmosphere. A wooden door stood in the other extremity of the room.

"An important looking door." Harold commented.

"Who would've thought…" Goofy said, attracting the attention of everyone, "That a dark place like this could contain a serene place like this."

"In fact," Heather said, "But we have no time to waste, let's…"

_Wait._

"What who's there?"

"Heather, are you okay?" Harold asked.

"Aren't you listening to something?"

"Nothing at all," the geek said, with the magician and the soldier nodding.

_This is your Final Rest, Heather. This was created with the remaining light that could be gathered in this world. Use it to rest because beyond here there is no light to protect you. But don't be afraid. Your heart is the mightiest weapon of all. Remember, you are the one who will open the door to the light._

"On a second thought, let's rest for a while," she said, "Magneto is not going anywhere, beyond that door," she sat down, folding her legs.

"I guess you're right," Goofy also sat down, followed by Donald and Goofy. They shared a snack before going. Heather, on the other hand, was applying make up to her face.

"The sweat of the battle will make it look like you're melting," Harold commented, after finishing a sandwich.

"This is make-up is specifically designed for amazons," she replied, using the delineator, "It won't happen."

"Serious, they even have make up for this?" Donald queried.

"You are still the same, Heather, no matter how you changed…" Harold said.

"This is a good thing by the way." She replied, "Even I barely believe in this… The Keyblade, all of this… considering what I was in the past. But past is not something that can be changed," she said, "Even if you try to use make up, try to enhance the truth, it still will be what was," she got up, smiling, "But the future can still be built, for better or for worse. And I choose for better!"

"And the future is there." Donald looked to the door.

Heather sighed, her heart started to race, and the feeling was shared by her teammates. "Okay, let's go… One… Two… Three!" and they opened the door.


	42. Answer for Untold Questions

**A.N.:** After a long time, the story meets its end, with this double update. It took longer because I sent to my pal **HVK**, for him to rev up the final fight, because he's very talented to write this stuff. Please, go check his stories, you'll know why!

* * *

The area looked just like the abandoned movie lot where the reality show Total Drama Action had been filmed: they saw the sets, and the hardware used for the challenges. They was the animatronic dragon used by Chef, thankfully deactivated, and the cliff also stood there right in front of the pool. The sky was a pleasant blue tone, with only a few clouds, but there was a faint wrongness in all of it, not the least of it being no sun in the sky, somehow illuminating everything. And more strangely still, not a single soul could be seen.

"And we're back to the madness," Heather said dryly, referring to their apparent return to the reality show, not their journey against the Heartless.

"It ends where it started," Harold commented. "How appropriate."

"But where do we go now?" Goofy asked.

"Where else?" Heather said, pointing off-handedly. "To the top of the cliff, the place of the final showdown! I say we take one of those carts." Harold, Donald and Goofy gave her weird looks; this was the first time the three of them had ever heard of someone taking a golf cart, which was a vehicle designed for tourism and locomotion on the set, to face an enemy. Heather didn't deign to answer them, picking out a cart and using her Keyblade to start it up. They shrugged and picked out their own carts, and Heather started those up after giving them sour looks.

Without any preamble, they moved on to the cliff, and the sounds of the motors running - a thick clunking noise that suggested the carts weren't exactly in the best repair - was the only sound they heard. However, as they approached the top of the cliff, they heard a voice, deep and resonant and compelling, and it spoke. _This world has been connected_.

"What is this?" Donald squawked, alarmed.

_Tied to the __**darkness**__. _The voiced continued, as they approached the top.

_Soon to be completely eclipsed. _They finally were there and, at the farthest corner of the cliff, there was a figure looking at the horizon.

_There is so much to learn. _They looked behind and saw that so very much of the set had disappeared, half-melted and dripping into the mass of purple ooze that had consumed the floor, as if it was all a facade sloughing away to reveal the rotting corruption underneath. Once again, Heather figured, the Heartless had decided to play their games with them again.

_And you understand so little_. The voice was disdainful this time, and boiled with an undercurrent of an anger so vast and deep it had nearly taken on a personality of its own. They looked again at the figure in the edge of the cliff as they got close enough and saw that was LeShawna... but not their LeShawna, wearing the same outfit she'd worn in Fortress Intolerance. Harold tried to speed up, slowing down when Heather slapped the back of his head warningly. He looked at her, mouth open, and Heather shook her head quickly, eyebrows arched.

Their carts stopped, and they stopped out onto the cliff top. _A meaningless effort_, the voice said condescendingly as they walked towards the figure wearing LeShawna's form stood, waiting for them.

_One who knows nothing can understand nothing._

"Stop with this bullcrap!" Heather cried, "It's already gotten _real _old!"

"What an expected reaction from a simple mind. A mind so little, suitable for a little place like this. You may think your world was big, but it was just an insignificant grain of sand compared to the universe. A prison created by the greed that watched you every day." The LeShawna figure stepped closer, gesturing at itself. "And this girl sought to escape, to know what lies beyond the horizon. And she opened her heart to the **darkness**."

And in the moment it took for it to speak that statement, LeShawna's form melted away, dissolving into shadow and mist, and in its place was Magneto, the Seeker of Darkness.

"Finally showing your true ugly face." Heather said, narrowing her eyes.

"LeShawna!" Harold cried impulsively.

"She can't hear you now. Not where she is," Magneto said, still circling them like a lion ready to assault its prey, lazy and knowing that they were completely in his power but enjoying the moment. "Her heart belongs to the **darkness**, where all worlds begin and end." His face twisted, a brief expression flickering across it so briefly was nearly just a twitch. Heather thought it looked like an expression of deep bitterness. Her team didn't let their guard down, as they readied their weapons. "Hearts aren't different. They are born in **darkness **and they will return at the end of their days."

"That is not true!" Heather replied, "Even if the heart is weak and can give in, there's still light here! And that light was what freed me from your darkness!"

"A mere nuisance, trying to postpone the unavoidable," Magneto smirked and crossed his arms. "You may have survived, but only to let you taste hope and then watch this hope slowly die, agonizing as **darkness **consumes your very soul."

"Even if I get caught by this darkness again," Heather replied, defiant, "I will make the Heartless regret. Badly!"

"You amuse me. You have come this far and still you understand _nothing_. Every light must fade. Every heart return to **darkness**!" He flew into the air, as a demon emerged from his shadow. It had a really ugly face, no nose and a forked mouth, with two undulated horns projecting behind and it had two sharp claws.

"Guardian!" he ordered, "Lay waste!" The shadow-demon jumped at them, dragging a massive set of claws back and striking, its claws bouncing off the Keyblade, Heather blocking it quickly. It swung its other arm and Heather jumped back, and Goofy charged forwards to block the in-coming attack. The shadow-demon paused for a moment, assessing this threat, and Goofy kneeled for Heather use his back to impulse herself and jumped off, diving into the shadow-demon and driving the Keyblade into it. It recoiled, stumbling back, and she drew the Keyblade back and stabbed it into its chest again. Black ichor dripped everywhere, and more of it fell when Heather recalled the Keyblade to her hand and stabbed it a third time, hopefully somewhere vital.

While that was happening, Magneto watched passively, unwary of Harold and Donald sneaking behind them while the shadow-demon and its master were focused on Heather and Goofy. He became less so when Harold struck him in the back with his nunchakus, making a nasty cracking sound. Magneto turned, but Harold dove away and Donald charged, icy winds swirling around him as he cast Blizzard, summoning several large crystals of elemental ice that crashed into Magneto and exploded in cold bursts. Magneto grunted, and smirked as if taking pleasure in being attacked. They didn't know if he'd been wounded or not, as he merely lifted his hand, and a wave of darkness struck them to the ground.

Magneto tilted his head, as if curious as Harold and Donald wearily got back up. The shadow-demon knocked Heather away and returned to Magneto, who said, "Dive into her **darkness**!" the shadow obligingly disappeared, reappearing under Heather's shadow, blasting up and knocking her down. Heather screamed, hitting the ground. However, before the shadow could take advantage of her moment of weakness, Goofy placed his shield at his front and Donald, who had already gotten up, cast Thunder to summon bolts of lightning at both shadow-demon and Magneto, striking them both, and the shadow-demon was stunned enough for Harold to swing his nunchakus right at its head.

Magneto watched, far too amused than was sane, letting Heather directly strike for him. "Come!" he bellowed as Heather began to swing the Keyblade, and the shadow-demon instantly reappeared in front of him and took Heather's attack. "Submit to the **darkness**!" the shadow dissolved into a vast amorphous mass, wriggling with almost-shapes trying to impose themselves upon itself as it wrapped around her and struck not just her physical body but her _mind_, burrowing down, scraping at the edges of her consciousness with a feeling that her flesh was flaking right off, the heat and light was draining around her and everything was turning so terribly _cold_...

Heather made a strangled noise of utter revulsion. "Get _OFF ME!_" She snarled, struggling as the shadow-demon struggled to completely envelop her, recoiling from her outburst and the will behind it. Magneto raised his hand and metal flowed out from his sleeve, sliding together into a pointed shape around his wrist that sharpened into a short blade, and he floated at her with it raised for violent purpose while she was distracted. Magneto was understandably surprised when Harold, weaving from behind him, launched one of his num-yos and managed to entangle the dark lord of the Heartless. It was barely a matter of moments for Magneto to slough it off with a simple exertion of dark energy, not even tapping into the power of the Heartless, but those moments kept him away for enough time for Donald and Goofy to help Heather: Goofy spun around like a tornado and spun right into the shadow-demon (avoiding Heather neatly) and slammed into the shadow-demon with sufficient force to knock it off Heather and send it flying, and once it was away from her it retreated to Magneto from some unknown instinct, and Donald, a little closer than was safe or necessary for his attacks, fired off all the offensive spells he could manage at Magneto, knocking him off-balance and injuring him enough for Harold to press his own attack and Goofy, still spinning, to slam into Magneto and bounce away, damage done.

Goofy, Donald and Harold closed in on Magneto, and Magneto glared at them, eyes glowing with bluish light turning a faint and disquieting purplish color at the edges. "Enough!" he roared, and a blast of darkness-tainted force erupted from him like a shield of his own, blasting his attackers away. "With your allies, you dare to think you stand a chance against me, but I doubt you can be so confident alone!" His energy shield expanded, pushing Heather's friends completely away, and Heather readied her Keyblade for defense as it approached. To her surprise, it passed right through her without affecting her in the least and stopped a short distance behind her, her allies bouncing briefly outside it. The shield remained stable, now creating a circular barrier completely closing her allies off, leaving just her and Magneto alone inside it. She was faintly aware of Harold, Donald and Goofy pounding outside it, trying to get in, and she made a sharp motion at them indicating that they should wait for the barrier to go down and watch her go.

They stopped, and knowing when it was time to put a show on, Heather took several steps forward, Keyblade held in both hands like a broadsword and pointed it defiantly at Magneto. "You challenging me?" She asked mockingly, her voice taunting.

"Ah," Magneto said quietly. "But you shall see yet everything, little human." And with that he powered up with abyssal energies, floating into the air and charging at Heather with incredible speeds; all she could do was lift the Keyblade up and do her best to block, but he was _fast_, perhaps nearly as fast as the Hulk had been strong. Magneto charged, his body glowing and the shadow-demon speeding along in his wake as he crashed into her with a mighty blow to the Keyblade that nearly knocked off her feet. She recovered fast and swung the Keyblade to intercept a wide kick at her head, deflecting it, but he was striking again and again, not giving her any time at all to do anything other than defend herself. She had managed to just barely deflect two shockwave-making punches and a kick that had been directed at her hip and still made her arms quiver when she stopped it, and then the shadow-demon swing it's claws, nicking her sides with a small spray of blood, and in the pain that followed, she decided that she really hated that demon. However, Magneto had to float off to allow it to attack, and she was able to knock it away and slicing off one of its arms. Magneto gracefully floated out of its way and frowned at Heather, summoning another blade from his other hand and this one rippling with the vile essence of the Heartless, and dove at her, his two blades clashing against her single weapon, her light flashing around and burning through his darkness.

Magnetic energies fluxed around him, polarizing into an energy current that he shaped into a dark lightning that he directed at her with a gesture. Heather smirked and swung her Keyblade the moment he fired the lightning, and instead of getting her electrocuted, when the Keyblade hit the lightning, it _sliced _the lightning and blasted it into an array of bright but otherwise harmless arcs of static crackling every-which-way. Unfortunately, Magneto had flown back and directed his shadow to attack her, and it flitted across the ground until it stopped below her and swelled into a large form behind her, flowing into a monstrous shape that looked a bit like the Hulk and swinging a massive arm into her back. She started to scream, and it was cut off when Magneto flew into her once-more, both feet forward in a kick, and his booted feet crashed into her chest in a devastating blow that knocked the wind from her lungs and sent her flying back.

The shadow-demon expanded again, arms spread wide and a number of nasty spines extending in such a way to impale a flying opponent. Unfortunately for it, Heather had already anticipated Magneto doing something like this at some point (and he wasn't the most creative fighter to start with), and rolled the Keyblade under her arm, and when she crashed into the shadow-demon it was the holy blade that pierced the creature, it's light burning away its external needles and melting it back into its shadowy form.

She rolled onto the ground with a smirk, getting back up in time to hear Magneto and his shadow-demon howling in mutual pain. That, she thought, ought to hurt like they deserved it. The shadow immediately returned to its owner, and Magneto caught sight of her smirking and offered a smirk of his own. He didn't waste the opportunity to start talking at her again. "So. You _are _quite cunning, human. You'd have a future in the forces of **darkness**."

"I've heard this from one of your friends and, guess what? She's dead," Heather said, rolling her eyes.

Magneto sighed long-sufferingly; Heather found it a strangely ordinary reaction from the man, like he was an old teacher who was disappointed in a bright but stubborn student's progress. "I suppose it's a futile effort to spend diplomacy upon one who has been blinded by light."

"Look who's talking," Heather commented back.

"I have heard that argument before, child. I offer this as a rebuttal! A show of the power of **darkness**." He began glowing purple and his shadow-demon guardian sank into the ground, seeming to disappear. Heather noticed her own shadow growing, surging with darkness, and then the shadow-demon guardian leaped up at her, sword-long claws on tentacles lashing at her, and she barely managed to spin away, avoiding getting sliced up by a horribly narrow margin, and when the shadow-demon struck the ground it simply disappeared. She looked around warily, wondering where it had gone, and looked down at a whim. She saw her shadow rippling again and jumped away right as the shadow-demon guardian jumped straight up, going up nearly ten feet before spinning back down, jaws wide enough to swallow a person whole and greet them with a number of vicious blades formed by the ragged edges of its gullet. She rolled out of the way, and again the guardian vanished when it hit the ground only to emerge from her shadow again, and again, and again, her body starting to ache from the strain, and half a dozen small cuts from where it had gotten lucky and nicked her.

The thought haunted her; she couldn't keep dodging it forever. Soon or later, the guardian _would _get lucky or catch her at a bad angle. "What do you hope to accomplish?" Magneto said mockingly, floating in the air and watching with interest as Heather was forced to constantly bound away from the leaping guardian and her own shadow. "You won't change anything, you _cannot _change anything at all! The end of all existence, of all hearts and lives, of all worlds is nothing less or more than **darkness**!" At least the guardian got lucky, slamming its body into her and crushed her into its considerable bulk, and Magneto smirked malevolently, his face twisting around it like over dozens of years of pain and anger had distilled the stuff of his soul into something terrible and monstrous. "Let **darkness **be the end of your journey, little human!"

The guardian raised an foreleg mutated into something like a crab's claw but with muscles that looked inexplicably like twisted pistons and slammed it into her leg; propped up on her hands so she could get back up, the blow felt like it had nearly fractured her leg and hurt so much she couldn't even scream or make noise as she fell face-first into the ground. It raised that claw-leg again and hammered down on her back, again and again, Magneto's awful smile growing wider and more ragged as the meaty crunches reached him until he held up a hand. The guardian paused, then dissolved into shadow and regressed over to its master, leaving Heather coughing and bleeding on the ground. "Now, can you see it?" He asked, his arms crossed as Heather shakily stood up, panting heavily and glaring at him. "How powerful **darkness **is?"

Heather gave him a dismissive look, smirking even as she trembled slightly, getting herself under control and stayed up properly, her deep bruises still stinging and her leg hurting nearly as badly as anything she had taken from the Hulk. She adjusted her silver wig, making sure it was on right, and chuckled a little at Magneto. "Power?" She repeated, like it was the stupidest thing she'd ever heard. "You call _this _power? It didn't even scratch me. That psycho MacLean makes a better job at hurting me than you, with his sick ideas for reality show challenges." She pointed her Keyblade, seeming to blur even though she was standing in place, and then she was gone, darting off at speeds too fast for the ordinary eye to detect, using the Sonic Blade technique. As she'd expected, Magneto's guardian emerged again to take the attack for him. And since she'd expected it, she controlled the direction of her charge and passed under the guardian, appearing in front of Magneto and putting all the force of her Sonic Blade charge into an attack right at his chin. He recoiled at the sheer force of it, his eyes widening in disbelief at how she had somehow managed to hit him with such a simple - and straightforward - strategy. He started to power up for a counterattack, but Heather was gone again, using Sonic Blade again, and he felt a sudden strike from behind him. He was stumbling forward from its power when _another _strike hit him in the leg, drawing blood and hitting the bone, and he remembered the powerful attacks his guardian had given to the girl during their short fight.

Again and again Heather struck him, moving too fast for even him to see her, but he certainly felt her blows, her incredible speed lending more force with every strike, until he was not just being cut but bludgeoned _and _cut, small tears on him accumulating and amplified into nasty opened bruises and burn marks. His guardian flickered around in open horror and fear - strange emotions for a Heartless - as its master was attacked again and again without respite or hesitation, and his guardian couldn't detect her quick attacks either. And then, her speed and strength escalated to an optimum measure that was superhuman at the very least - and vastly impossible for her to have done only a few months ago - she appeared in front of him again and swung the Keyblade into his stomach with enough force to blast him into the air, her Sonic Blade's store of power unleashed in a single hit. Heather pointed her Keyblade at him, a ball of energy forming and erupting into six beams of pure light that blasted into Magneto, launching him at the ground. He bounced against it twice before coming to a stop, and he rolled over.

Heather walked over to him. "Remember last time? Do I have to teach this stuff again? She said, confidence surging through her every word, and Magneto visibly bristled at her. "You already know that light is greater than darkness because the darkness doesn't create anything. It just destroys." She smirked and Magneto knew enough of her to know when a cutting remark was approaching. "Then again...maybe your darkness _can _make things for good. Thing is, it's so obvious that _you...just...don't...know!_"

"_YOU DARE?_" Magneto roared, more of a beast than his guardian, the calm cruelty he had begun the battle with exploding into incoherent rage as a blast of dark energies created a massive shockwave that Heather blocked without much effort. Heather shielded her eyes, and when she opened them she saw nothing worse than a panting dark lord, eyes burning with hatred. Heather smirked, she had hit a sore sport and she was enjoying every moment of it. "I have lived too long and seen too many horrors than you can imagine! I know things that would unmake your pitiful explode merely to know their least names! I had begun the ways of **darkness **before you could say your first words, child! I control the endless legions of the Heartless with the merest movement of my finger! You _cannot _presume to tell me that my knowledge is incomplete!"

"Du-uh," she rolled her eyes, "The whole point of knowledge is that you never have enough of it. If it was complete, you wouldn't have much of a purpose, would you?"

"_That...is...enough! __**DARKNESS **__WILL END YOU!_" Magneto pointed to her, finger shaking like he was having some kind of fit. "GUARDIAN! EAT HER SOUL DOWN TO THE VERY LAST SCRAP OF QUINTESSENCE! FEAST UNTIL THE WHOLE OF HER BEING IS EXTINGUISHED! DIVE INTO HER SHADOW AND TEAR HER FROM THE INSIDE!" The guardian obeyed, and dove in the ground, and Heather smirked knowingly. The trail of darkness under Heather's feet that gleamed for a few seconds, and again she jumped back before the guardian emerged, and this time she moved in such a way that her Keyblade was pointing at the ground so that when it once more emerged, the Keyblade actually _cut through _him. It, and Magneto, screamed in pain as she sank her Keyblade into it until it was nearly hilt deep and then she tore the holy blade loose, roughly bisecting it. The shadow-demon guardian quavered, flinching away from her...and then it fell into two even halves, and it disintegrated into smoking dust, right in front of its master's eyes, and a moment later even that was gone.

Magneto started disbelievingly. "See?" Heather said, tapping her Keyblade at the part of the ground where the guardian had been slain. "You cannot win, because for whatever reason you just can't _evolve_." Magneto flinched, and Heather was pleased that she had struck a nerve without even trying. "You're just stuck at whatever sad little level you'd landed yourself in."

She held her Keyblade in a combative stand, and continued. "Me, on the other hand? I'm always looking for the light, together with my friends. It took me forever, but I finally figured it out. The light shows me new ways, new perspectives, new friends. I'm already a different person since the battle begun and yet I'm still the same."

Magneto took several shuddering and heavy breaths, hands reflexively curling into fists. "How...how could this possibly be? It doesn't make any sense. It makes _no _sense."

Heather snorted. "That's what I'm getting at. You're just never gonna understand!"

His scowl deepened into something so forbidding that it looked like it had been carved into metal. "This is not my last move, and I have had enough of this sick game!" He spread his hands and the ground trembled, as in the grip of an earthquake. Lightning poured down from the sky like a benediction from a particularly ill-tempered god, and the illusion of the abandoned movie lot cracked, the ill-assumed reality wavering like a mirage...

And then everything turned dark.

When Heather regained her senses, she found herself in the same sky in the dimension she fought the Sentinel. This time, though, she saw a white door in the horizon.

"Okay...that...that was unexpected," Heather muttered. "Dunno what I was expecting, but it wasn't this." She peered at the door; for some reason, it drew her attention like metal to a magnet. "What's that door-thing?"

As if answering her, Magneto's disembodied voice boomed out. _Behold the endless abyss! Within lies the heart of all worlds: Kingdom Hearts! Look as hard as you are able. You'll not find even the smallest glimmer of light. From those dark depths are all hearts born. Even yours. Even mine._

Heather stared at it for a moment more. "...That door's right there, but he can't do anything anymore." She shook her head and her body separated from whatever illusion of gravity that had been keeping it there, and she flew in the door's direction. She didn't get very far before she abruptly saw that she was not alone.

She almost flew right into the beast, and she stopped dead in her tracks at the sight of it, her head struggling to fit its sanity shattering size into her grasp, and it just couldn't fit. It was too impossibly _big._

The creature's face vaguely resembled something demonic, so large it easily dwarfed every other Heartless she had ever seen. It was, in fact, roughly about the side of a small _world_, and it took her a long moment just to process its bizarre appearance. Her gaze was drawn to a second demonic face at its chest, relatively smaller tentacles on the upper part of its chest around an opening revealing a core of disturbing energy that was protected by a shield. She stared for a moment at its various other features before she stared at it's demonic true face, at the forehead, for under a set of massive horns there was the impressive sight of the Heartless symbol, and inside that symbol was Magneto, the seeker of darkness, glaring down imposingly at her.

_The World of Chaos! _Magneto's voice boomed. _Soon, there will be no need to look for the heart of a world! My World of Chaos will simply dig its way to the core of a world, to feast on their hearts! And then, at last, __**DARKNESS!**__CONQUERS! ALL!_

"...Okay. This is really kind of major bad," Heather said faintly, frankly horrified at the thing she was looking at, and the sheer scale of it. It was just too _big_...

"Heather!" Harold, Donald and Goofy's voices called out, faint and nearly deafened by the distance; from the sound of it, they were calling out from _inside _that thing Magneto was commanding. Before she could make up her mind on her next course of action, the World of Chaos raised a single peculiar hand the size of a small island and dismissively slapped her, moving far faster than it had any right to and sending her rocketing into the abyss. She was able to come to a stop under her own power, flying against the force of the push until she countered its momentum and floated in mid-air, but she stayed right there. The sheer scale of her task daunted her. "How am I supposed to fight something like that!" She moaned, her shoulders shaking.

A familiar voice came to her, not something she heard; this voice went straight to her brain, bypassing her sense of hearing like it was a trifling inconvenience.

_Heather? Seriously? Just giving up like that? Come on. I thought you were better than that. You're just a skinny chick, but you've always had real guts._

"LeShawna?" Heather whispered. No one answered her, but she smirked all the same, her trajectory reversing itself as she flew back. "You're right. I can't let you get away with dissing me." She flew the unfathomable distance back to the thing Magneto had called the World of Chaos, flying so far and fast that a normal person would have been torn to pieces by the wind friction (though there didn't seem to be air here aside from whatever atmospheric essence she was breathing, and anyway she didn't think about that stuff and wasn't bothered by it) and came to a stop before it, and faced it.

She stood there, staring at it and waiting for it to notice her, and it didn't turn or move or bother in any way to demonstrate that it had deigned to notice her. It did raise a number of the tentacles encrusting it's body like scales and small enough on its world-sized body that they were 'only' the size of houses, and with dark energies powering around them, the tentacles pointed at her and fired lancing beams at her. She was already in flight when they powered up, and flew straight towards them; moving out of their way was too much effort that she didn't feel like sparing, and afforded only the slightest adjustment of her flight that pulled her out of their way, and moved with such speed that she scaled even the impossible stature of the World of Chaos. The tentacles fired beams at her again and again, and she flew up, rolling out of their way, moving straight towards a portal positioned under what she supposed could be considered the World of Chaos' chin. Another flurry of beams behind her almost struck her in the back, and with the dodging roll she employed, she flew right into that portal.

When she passed through it, she found herself in a fairly small room that she supposed, given the disquietingly organic appearance of the slick walls, was somewhere inside the World of Chaos. At the center of the room was a repulsive-looking blob, beating like a heart, sustained by a mass of thin weavings resembling a spider's web going from the walls and into it. No sooner had she landed on the ground than Shadow Heartless emerged from the ground, larger and pulsing with an unnatural anti-light, clustering around the blob like guards and circling around her. Heather smirked, brandishing the Keyblade and standing in an offensive stance.

As she prepared to fight, one of the Heartless was flung her way, its head caved in and neck broken, and bounced off the ground before coming to a stop at its feet. It twitched once and fell apart, its shadowy essence reabsorbed into the walls without any apparent effect. Heather glanced sharply at where it had come from and saw a most welcome sight: Harold dancing head-long into the Shadows, jumping from Heartless to Heartless with his nunchakus flailing with remarkable skill, pulverizing the Shadow's claws and heads and other important spots before he leaped away from their attacks and resumed his pattern elsewhere. "May I lend a helping hand, m'lady?" Harold asked rhetorically, his erratic dodging taking him to Heather's side where he stood his ground, brandishing his nunchakus once more. The Shadows surged forward, and Heather wasn't in the least afraid.

"Harold, you okay?" Heather asked, slicing an incoming Shadow in half and bouncing the halves back at the others, knocking several others down and making a small pile-up.

"Of course!" He said cheerfully, standing in a seemingly awkward crane-like way and lifting his leg out of the way of an offending claw-strike. He swung, and his nunchaku broke through the Shadow's arm, and he twisted the swing so that it continued through the head of a different Heartless.

Heather nodded, trying not to smile. "Cool. Wanna take out that thing over there?" She indicated the blob-thing in the middle of the room.

"It would be an honor."

They smashed through the Heartless assailing them, using their bodies as a makeshift shield to push them back and pushed the Heartless right into the blob-thing, winding it back on its web-organs and seemingly wounding it. It shone red, somehow managing to express anger, and more Shadows appeared, presumably summoned by it. Heather grimaced, and gave a brief look at Harold. He rolled his eyes at the Shadows, and before the Shadows could overwhelm them, Heather and Harold went straight to the blob-thing, weapons out. The Heartless sprang at them, and Harold positioned himself so that he could swing his nunchaku around in precisely patterns to deflect the Heartless while she stabbed the core of the blob thing directly. It writhed, perhaps because the Keyblade was emitting a considerable amount of light, and the Heartless faltered, several of them tripping over themselves or freezing in place long enough for Heather to withdraw the Keyblade and stab the core again with greater force. Some of the Shadows collapsed and a few dissolved on the spot, but the rest were moving as Heather pulled the Keyblade out again. Harold deflected more of them, his swings getting increasingly desperate, and Heather stabbed the core a final time, and a pulse of light flashed around the Keyblade, cracks appearing in the blob-thing as the web-organs around it splintered and were swallowed back up. The Heartless around them shivered and fell down and abruptly exploded, right before the blob-thing itself exploded, flinging them into the portal Heather had come through and back out into the vast space Heather had found herself and the World of Chaos in.

"Gosh!" Harold said faintly. "That was crazy. What was that thing anyway?"

"No idea," Heather said. "Maybe it was, like, an evil liver or something. Never trust a liver, my mom always told me."

"...That's a weird thing to tell your kid."

"Yeah, that's what I used to say to her."

Harold nodded, still a bit dizzy from having something literally explode in his face, and he caught sight of the World of Chaos properly, which hadn't noticed their reappearance yet and possibly was under the impression that they were still inside. It was honestly ridiculous that Harold could have failed to notice it, and of course he _had _seen it, but it was just so impossibly big that he was only now grasping its scale. He stared at it, mouth open wide in mingled horror and disbelief. "_Holy..._" He started to say, his lips forming the shapes of words that Heather suspected were probably extremely impolite and swear-based. Apparently, he was either too dumbstruck to speak or retained the presence of mind not to say anything so crude.

"...Yeah, that was pretty much my reaction," Heather admitted.

"How are we supposed to fight something that _big_?" Harold said, pointing at it. "Hit it until it drops?"

"Or find more of those organ-room thingies with the portals I saw," Heather suggested. "Even though I don't really know why it would have those portals around..."

"Maybe its size and concentrated Heartless-ness is damaging the spatial relations of the dimensions directly adjacent to it, causing those portals to appear as an incidental trait of its power?" Harold suggested. "Or maybe it just has cosmic dandruff. Who knows?"

"Meh, I'm not complaining about it," Heather said. She hesitated, and reluctantly added, "Much."

By this point, the World of Chaos had noticed them again and its tentacle-artillery took aim at them and fired, a sixteen-fold array of beams flying at them in such a pattern that the beams spun together into a loosely helix-shaped pattern. Heather grabbed Harold by the wrist and flew the two of them out of the way, coming to a stop when she saw the tentacles retracting into the body and wondered what it was doing. A small portion of the creature's torso shifted - in an area roughly equivalent to a human's hand-span - and twisted itself into a series of ridged bumps and spires. Energies crackled in the hollow spaces of those structures and swelled into a solid pool of crackling power, and thick tentacles emerged from the sides to lash that spinning pool and hurl away spinning house-sized discs of energy at Heather and Harold.

"It's like it's shooting artillery at it!" Harold remarked as the two of them flew as fast as they could out of the way, the energy discs flying away as they missed. Two of them crashed into each other, making a massive shockwave that sent Heather and Harold flying wildly. They managed to right themselves, and Heather thought wildly of finding another portal to exploit, and most unfortunately she noticed the omnipresent lighting dimming slightly and looked up. At first she thought that an island had somehow appeared above them, and then saw clearly that the World of Chaos have moved its hand over them, enormous claws clenched slightly, perhaps preparing to catch them or to squash them. All options seemed unappealing.

Magneto's voice boomed out. _You think you've done something, but __**darkness **__will defeat you!_

"Ugh, again with the darkness ramblings! I've heard it over and over again, shut up already!" Heather snarled. To Harold, she ordered, "Evade, evade, _evade!_" The two of them flew as fast as they could while more artillery was fired at them and the hand descended. Neither Heather nor Harold tried any zig-zagging or fancy moving or other similar tricks that they might otherwise have been interested by, they just wanted to get out of the way as quickly as possible.

They moved fast enough to just barely avoid getting hit by the titanic hand, and that hand kept going, too big to alter its own momentum easily, and it struck its own body right at the place where it had formed what Harold apparently considered artillery. There was a very faint crunching noise, and a flash of darkness. Noticing that the blasts had stopped, Heather and Harold turned around and drifted to a stop, and saw the World of Chaos move its hand away, apparently unaware that it had hurt itself. Its hand was uninjured, but the artillery it had made was a blasted and crunched pit still flickering with pitiful remnants of energy. Black ichor was spilling into it, melding into the crevices and energy remnants, and it produced another portal.

Moving faster than they thought possible (and not questioning or really caring how that portal had appeared), Heather and Harold flew into that portal and found themselves inside a room much like the one Heather had found Harold in, though this was a lot more narrow than the other, tall instead of wide, and there was another blob-like organ in the room, larger than the first one and suspended high up in the room by those web-like things that were resembling alien veins. And instead of Shadows, this room had Darkball Heartless.

The Heartless didn't react to them, though, and seeming in the middle of fighting someone else. "Thunder!" a familiar voice shouted, and lightning crashed around the Heartless, stunning and scattering them, revealing Donald with his staff held high and shimmering with magical light.

Heather and Harold straighted up, grinning. "Donald!" they both shouted joyfully.

Donald blinked, noticing the two humans. "Heather? Harold! What the- how did you guys get here! I don't...oh, forget it, I don't care!" He pointed at the core over their heads. "We gotta take that thing out!"

"Yeah, already figured that out," Heather said. "Hang on, the Darkballs are getting back up!"

"Got it!" Donald squawked, holding his staff up and charging up. He slammed it on the floor, fire and ice flashing around him; a blast of icy wind surged out at the nearest Darkballs, freezing the atmosphere around them into solid chunks of jagged ice and crushing the Heartless inside, and at the same time a line of fire raced out to the furthest Darkballs in a precisely shaped explosion that tore apart a few and savagely burned the others, stunning them again.

Not in the mood for an extended fight, Heather and Harold smashed through the stunned Darkballs, slicing and crushing and pummeling them as appropriate, and Heather bounced off one (finished off shortly by Harold) and fired herself into the air with her Keyblade out, stabbing into the core. This time, only one blow was necessary (or perhaps she had just hit it harder than she had the other one) and it writhed alarmingly, flashing red so violently and frequently it almost looked like it was bleeding. "Take cover, Donald!" Heather warned, cutting the Keyblade free and leapt away. "It explodes when it dies!"

Donald blinked. "Wait, it does what-"

The core exploded, and they were once more flung out through the portal, the stinging heat from the explosion dissipating once they were outside and back in the main fighting area. "She totally told you," Harold said apologetically.

"Yeah, _right before it happened and before I could do anything!_" Donald screamed furiously, waving his feathery arms in protest.

"Hey, I totally told you," Heather said smugly, sticking her tongue at him. He just squawked more furiously (and incomprehensibly) than ever. For Donald, it was quite a feat.

Harold thoughtfully cupped his chin. "Why do I feel like we're forgetting something?"

_Ahem, _Magneto's voice said from what sounded to be directly behind them.

Their arguing froze, and the three of them slowly revolved, turning backwards until they found themselves face to face with...well, they weren't _technically _face to face with it, because of how big it was (in much the same way that you cannot really be face-to-face with a cliff, for instance), but they were still staring directly at the lower face of the World of Chaos.

"Huh," Heather said, as Harold and Donald stared in dumbfounded horror. "Well. That. That's happening right now. That's...uh, yeah, that's unfortunate. Yeah."

And Magneto bellowed, _You will be annihilated, every single one of you! All of you will be a feast for __**darkness**__! _The dragon-like face opened its jaws wide, apparently deciding to make Magneto's comment more literally than they had come to expect from him, and snapped its jaws shut.

The three of them got out of the way, and they flew to a stop a short distance from it. tried to bite them, snapping its massive jaws. Heather scowled at it and said, "If there's something I learned from fighting things like this, it's that jaws are _always _weak spots." She flew out, stabbing the first stretch of surface she could reach. The giant face didn't howl, but it did feel the impact and moved slightly, and Heather struck it again and again. While she focused her efforts there, Harold flew up to the upper jaw and attacked what he hoped was an important muscle group and Donald fired bolts of lightning at its eyes. Altogether, it was enough to hurt it and enrage it, and it opened its mouth to counterattack, so Heather cast Ars Arcanum, releasing six beams of concentrated light at the creature and Donald unleashed a torrent of flaming ice missiles into its mouth, each individually bigger than some cars Heather had seen before. The creature howled this time, looking absolutely furious...and it paused, as if realizing that it had eaten something that didn't quite agree with it. At this point, the ice missiles Donald had cast erupt into a torrent of pure coldness inside it's throat, and ice exploded from inside the face and froze it solid, still not doing much damage, but it was still enough to cause another portal to appear in its open mouth.

Magneto remained unimpressed. _There is no hope for you! Your efforts are utterly futile!_

As Heather expected (after she got over the initial queasy feeling she got when she went through portals), they found themselves inside another room with a core. This one was fairly wide-open, and the core was placed into the wall like some inexplicable display piece, the web-threads thick around it and shimmering slightly. However, instead of the weak Shadows or the more powerful Darkballs, Heather saw the seemingly floating swords and flickering visages of Invisibles, their tall and gangly forms flashing in and out of sight. Heather's stomach twisted a bit; she had seen enough of them to know that they were truly nasty opponents, and moved like mosquitoes and hit like bears. She gritted her teeth, preparing for the worst, and once again heard a familiar voice. (Then again, given that she was reasonably adept at pattern recognition, she had expected this.)

"Here I go!"

Donald perked up. Harold looked around expectantly and Heather called out, "Goofy!" It was just in time; the Invisibles were thrown aside as Goofy smashed his way through them with his tornado technique, spinning so powerfully that he became a tornado and sucked in the surrounding enemies and bashed them on his shield hard enough to send them flying away. With how tightly they were clustered, this had the effect of smashing the Invisibles all over the place.

"Guys!" Goofy called out joyfully as he caught sight of his friends. "You're okay!"

"Yeah, I know, we've been through this!" Harold said. "We gotta take out that core thingy!" He pointed at the beating core in the wall, and the Invisibles were already clustering around it protectively.

"Got it!" Goofy pointed at Donald. "Use your magic! I'll make an opening for ya!" With that, he raised his shield and ran right into the Invisibles, scattering them and shoving them down over each other so that they didn't have a single moment to even think about attacking Heather and the others, but he remained there and didn't move aside for them to attack. It was pretty clear that he wasn't concerned about getting hit. Donald hesitated, looking deeply uncomfortable; while his magical abilities were capable of ensuring that he was incapable of hitting someone he didn't want affected, just aiming at one of his friends was disturbing. Even so, he steeled himself and projected an enormous flame around himself, shaping it into a tornado of his own and throw it at the Invisibles. Still caught off-guard by Goofy's charge, the Invisibles were captured in that flaming tornado, sucked into its depths and incinerated. Heather used the tornado to her advantage, allowing herself to be sucked up by it (since she couldn't be burned by its flames) and disengaged from it, aimed herself at the core with her Keyblade first and struck deeper than the previous two. There was a brief flash of light, and another explosion as the third core died, and now Harold and Donald were experienced enough to grab Goofy and protect themselves. When they and Heather were flung out into the open again, they were ready for it and didn't get stunned by it.

"Gawrsh, that was _fun!_" Goofy said giddily. "Let's do that again!"

Harold gave Goofy an incredulous look. Donald grumbled something about 'those self-help videos you were in being bad enough' and Heather snorted. "Yeah, sure. We're in the fight of our lives with a giant monster bigger than some worlds I've seen and you're having _fun._Yippie-freaking-yee."

"Okay, so long as you're okay with it!" Goofy said cheerfully. He blinked. "Uh, what was that about world-monsters?" Donald and Harold wordlessly pointed behind him. Goofy stared at the World of Chaos. "_Gawrsh. _That is pretty big." He shrugged. "Oh well, we just hit it until it drops!" Donald facepalmed. "Say, isn't that guy down there that Magneto fella we're trying to beat? Wait, the force field just went down."

"It did _what?_" Heather said. "Wait, if it's down, maybe it's gotten weaker! And then we can stop that monster of his...holy crapbaskets, we might actually _win _this!"

_Delusional fools, _Magneto said. _If you think victory is near, it's only makes your defeat all the more humiliating. All the more hopeless. All the more DELICIOUS._

"...Huh, that was kind of creepy," Heather said, raising an eyebrow. Magneto emanated a generalized displeasure at her. She and her friends flew at the main core, moving as fast as they could (and, again, would have been flat-out impossible in normal situations); more tentacles appeared and tried to shoot them, but they were moving too fast, and by the time the tentacles had finished firing a few volleys, Heather, Harold, Donald and Goofy were already outside the main core. "You ready, guys?" Heather asked.

"Definitely," Harold said, nodding at her.

"Sure, why not?" Donald asked sarcastically.

"Gotta do the job, right?" Goofy said, shrugging.

"Eh, I've heard better. As big 'let's go beat up the bad guy' last lines go...you guys totally suck," Heather said.

"Hey!" They said. She snickered and pointed her Keyblade at the main core. "Let's get 'em." They nodded tensely. She lowered her Keyblade slightly and added, "See, now _that _was a good line."

"Oh, shut up," Donald grumbled.

The four of them charged, not entirely sure what they intended to do but resolving to make it up as they went along like they always did, and nearly before they had taken nine steps the World of Chaos summoned more Heartless to defend itself. Unlike its cores, it didn't summon a single group of unified Heartless but a veritable army of every single type Heather had seen (and a few she hadn't) and placed them squarely in the way of Heather's group. Heather, having already decided on a straightforward charge and refusing to let something as insignificant as a mere army get in the way of that, activated her Sonic Blade technique and flitted off. The Heartless that had been directly in front of her, all the way from the front of their army to the ones at the very back of it, flinched as if struck...and then they erupted in plumes of darkness burned away by flashes of light, and Heather reappeared in front of her friends, and they all quite cheerfully proceeded to smash their way through the army. Heather made her way to the main core directly, activating Sonic Blade again and cutting another path through the Heartless army, and ended it by impaling the Keyblade directly into the main core. Unfortunately it was a lot tougher than the previous ones, and this didn't appear to do a great deal of damage. Heather therefore started striking the main core with everything she had. The first blow made it quiver. The second had contrails of light flashing behind it and made tiny cracks appear in it. The thirds made shockwaves that tore up some of the ground under it, and deepened the cracks.

She saw something flash behind her. "Heather!" Harold shouted, him and the other two surrounded by downed Heartless they were using as a shield against the teeming horde around them. "Check this out!" Goofy tossed his shield up, and Donald cast lightning and ice and fire at it, not doing damage but imbuing the shield with pure elemental energies, and the shield came down as a roaring tri-colored disc blazing with it's different elemental properties, and Harold swung a nunchaku at it with astonishing force, and the blazing shield was propelled across the field and ripping up shockwaves behind it. The Heartless in its path were vaporized, the ones that were too near it were tossed aside, and by the power of its passage a full third of the remaining Heartless were destroyed. Heather jumped for cover as it approached her, and just in time; the shield hit the main core and she was looking away, and so didn't see it impact, but she did hear a massive blast that might have deafened her if she had been right there, and she felt an even bigger release of fire and cold and electricity that blasted holes in the area. She turned around, seeing the shield improbably bouncing away back to Goofy, and that the main core hadn't been destroyed, but there _was _a large hole in it, cracked at the edges and glowing feebly. Taking her chances, she brought the Keyblade up and stabbed it through that hole, and released the biggest blast of light she could manage.

The entire main core cracked, flashing alarmingly, and Heather flew away. "That's it!" She shouted. "Fly away, go go _go!_" Harold, Donald and Goofy did just that, flying off the World of Chaos as fast as they could and leaving the remaining Heartless behind, and they cleared the area before the main core exploded; it was a lot more impressive than the previous explosions, destroying the area of the World of Chaos it had been housed it and making a rather large hole in the super-Heartless' body, all the Heartless it had summoned obliterated in a rather sad and inconsequential manner.

"...Gosh, that was awesome," Harold said slowly.

"Let's do that again!" Heather yelled. Donald and Goofy stared at her. She coughed. "Okay. Um, maybe not _that, _exactly, but something cool like that," and she added, muttering, "Stupid adrenaline…"

"Did we kill it?" Goofy asked, looking concerned. The World of Chaos jerked, a simple and brief movement, and it tilted itself sluggishly at them. Clearly, it was far from dead, but they had seriously hurt it.

This position was reinforced when the Heartless glass at its forehead cracked open and Magneto appeared from it, though he was not quite as they had seen him before; his shirt had disappeared and he held a double-edged staff, the blades on it extremely similar to the pseudo-Keyblade called Soul Eater, and to Heather's disgust, his legs were covered by a cable connecting him to the World of Chaos and looking far too much like a cancerous umbilical cord.

"Uh, _ew_," Heather said, scowling. "Finally decided to show your ugly face now, Magneto?"

Magneto just laughed, and it was a cold and mirthless sound, like two slabs of metal being slammed together. "Minions of light, you will never understand the meaning of existence, not until you embrace **darkness**!"

"Y'know what?" Harold said, swinging his nunchakus, "I'm sick of hearing darkness here, darkness there. It's just like you don't know anything other than darkness. Major bummer, man."

"Okay, know what? I wanna shut him up already," Donald added.

"'Kay! Let's go and end this!" Goofy said.

"I shall _eradicate _you!" Magneto declared, and with a gesture produced two orbs beside him. They shot lasers at Donald and might well have killed him if not for Goofy, the knight blocking the lasers with his shield and nullifying them. Harold dodged one that came his way and launched his num-yos at one, knocking its aim off-kilter and it fired a laser that destroyed the other orb. All of that happened in moments, and it was enough time for Heather to fly straight at Magneto, who saw her coming and seemed to welcome her enough to ready his own weapon, and the two clashed blades; the former Master of Magnet with a bleak grimace, the wielder of the Keyblade with a determined scowl, and neither of them were willing to lose this fight.

Magneto spun his staff, and he was even faster than before, and the blade of his staff hit Heather in the shoulder forcefully enough to have bisected her if not for the Keyblade's magic empowering her. He grinned viciously and his staff spun, hitting again and again, until Heather moved the Keyblade into its path and knocked it away. Since it was still spinning, and building up incredibly momentum, it was jerked right out of Magneto's grasp, and distracted him enough for her to kick him in the hip. He grunted, more surprised than hurt, and called his staff back to his hand and raised it up high to hit her in the head, having focused so much on Heather that he had forgotten about her allies. Heather smirked at him, and Magneto had enough time to wonder why she seemed pleased before Harold flew in and hit him in the chest, knocking him off-balance. Magneto staggered backwards and Goofy launched his shield right at his head, then Donald generated enough lightning to equal several kilojoules and fired it at Magneto, blasting him back again, Magneto's securing cord snapping him back to bring him back into the fight, and unfortunately for him Heather intercepted him, slamming her Keyblade into his stomach hard enough to make him shout in pain, and then she punched him in the chin with the Keyblade's handguard.

"You, how dare you?" He snarled, shoving them away with a shockwave. "I am _Magneto_! I will not be defeated by such powerless, unevolved irredeemables! _My will be done!_" Darkness-induced electricity built up at the point of the upper blade of his staff-swords, quickly surpassing Donald's own Thunder spell from moments before and easily three times as powerful with hardly any effort, and he released it in a targeting blast of lightning, but he acted too late; Heather had signaled the others to start moving as soon as Magneto had recovered, and they flew away so quickly that when he fired his lightning, they were out of his range.

"What's that matter, losing your touch!" Heather teased as she came from overhead, scoring an opportunistic attack. Harold and Goofy came from Magneto's left and right sides respectively; Harold hit him in the hip as Heather had done earlier, setting him up for a smashing blow from Goofy. Donald came from the front and summoned pure coldness around him, shaping it overhead and creating a boulder-shaped chunk of ice that rapidly grew, until Donald was levitating a modest iceberg the size of a house above himself. Going red with the effort of holding it up, Donald used his magic to throw it at Magneto, and the others go out of the way and cheerfully watched it crash into Magneto and explode in a small gale of frosted wind. Magneto drifted in place, stunned, and screaming at the top of their lungs Heather, Harold, Donald and Goofy flew back in, circling around each and ramping their speed, drawing in each other's momentum and accelerating, spiraling around Magneto at incredible speeds and channeling it all into a single combined strike to his chest at full force, circling each other in high speed and they hit Magneto with full force at his chest.

Magneto opened his eyes in disbelief and let go of his staff, his fingers suddenly too weak and nerveless. The thought of it hurt: those light minions were defeating him. _Him_; he was Magneto, the seeker of darkness. He had delved into the deepest of elemental darkness, he had offered up all he was and could have too it in his pursuit of power and wisdom that even the mighty god Odin could not equal. After all he had given, all he had lost, all he had gained, it was _absurd _that he was coming off worst in this fight, and yet here he was, with his back only moments from encountering the face of the World of Chaos by the hardest way.

"Give up, Magneto!" Heather shouted, floating nearby. Magneto got ahold of his senses and forced himself to remain stoic, letting go of the World of Chaos, and now he smirked at Heather in a most disturbing and malevolent way.

"If there is something you must know," he said, approaching slowly and instilling a great deal of unsettling feeling in them. He spread his arms, and a gust blew in that airless space that threw Harold, Donald and Goofy away, too far to help Heather, and Heather herself was frozen in place, several of the shards from Donald's iceberg flying to her thanks to Magneto and shackling her down. "It is this! **Darkness **is _everywhere_!" Now in front of Heather, his right hand transformed into darkness, and he plunged that hand into her chest.

Blood spurted, and Heather's face twisted, her mouth opened in wordless agony, and a thin small gasp of pain too intense to be properly articulated wheezed out, and she made a similar noise at the sound of her bones breaking inside her. She tried to closer her mouth, to deny her weakness, but she couldn't even breathe properly and Magneto chuckled, amused, and he continued. "Everywhere, including your own heart. So...see that I have taken hold of your heart with my own two hands. See as I extract the **darkness **from it. I shall show it to you, and perhaps then you shall understand the insignificance of your actions, and the truth of all things." He twisted his hand, making even more blood to come out of the opening, and Heather just let out a very low noise of pain surpassed by indignated fury, and Magneto reached deeper, looking almost like an animal; whatever goodness and humanity there had been in Magneto seemed lost, drowned in pain and evil and darkness. "Aha. Here it is."

He smirked expectantly, and frowned, looking startled. "Uhn? What is…" Whatever he had been about to say was lost, and he screamed like nothing Heather had ever heard before, not like a human or animal but like something that fallen into unthinkable depths. With a howl and a jerk, he tore his hand free from her, and Heather saw that it was no longer made of darkness but burning with pure light that faded away to reveal that his right hand was gone, and a good chunk of his arm eaten away.

Heather looked down, and saw that a light very much like the glow that had claimed Magneto's hand was flowing from the wound in her chest. She didn't realize that she was breathing properly again, but as she caught her breath, she looked up at Magneto, gathering her strength and unaware that a downright _heroic _look had come over her. Magneto's remaining hand gripped the stump of his arm, and for a moment, his ever-present scowl was replaced by a brief look of true fear, an emotion more honest and genuine than anything he had felt in a very long time. Heather saw this and, after remembering the gist of all those things he had constantly talked about, said, "Yeah, there _is _darkness in my heart. But it also has light!" Her words sounded, at least to Magneto, like the condemnation of a damning judge than an actual opponent, and the light from her chest wound grew brighter still, and while it was pleasant and tolerable to everyone else, it seared his own eyes and he was forced to shut his eyes.

When his eyes adjusted, he saw that there was indeed a light, but nothing like anything he had seen before, a light that cruel and mad dimension had never seen. Harold, Donald and Goofy floated before him now, a stern and fierce force of guardians, and just behind them was Heather; her wound was completely healed and it looked as if there had never been such a wound, a radiant aura pulsed around her far more powerfully than Magneto's own dark aura ever had, and from her back the aura expanded into two gigantic wings of pure light, seemingly sprouting from her back. She looked like an angel, and at that the first angel that wore a wig.

Magneto, his eyes still seared by the light, whispered. "...Impossible." Louder, he said, "_Impossible!_" and he flew back a bit, halting and trembling as his flight path grew too weak to maintain itself.

"Guess what, Magneto?" Harold said peacefully, arms folded and his expression completely tranquil, as if the light from Heather wiped away all unnecessary emotional context. "It's more than possible." Magneto, infuriated by this, summoned laser orbs and they discharged their attacks at once. None of them moved except Heather, and she dismissively moved one of her wings in front of the beam, dispelling it in an instant without any apparent effort.

"Now, that's the part where you get defeated already, ahyuck!" Goofy said cheerfully.

"_Finally!_" Donald agreed.

Heather lifted her hand, and her Keyblade materialized with a small light at its tip. "Magneto!" Heather yelled seriously, and Magneto flinched at the authority in that voice. For just a moment, he looked genuinely afraid. "You've created only chaos and destruction in your sick undertaking for more and more power. You have destroyed countless worlds to satisfy your unending greed. It's time for you to stop this, once for all!" The spark of light at the Keyblade grew, and her wings glowed even brighter, like the outward beams of a star. "All the worlds have lent their light to finish this!" She pointed her Keyblade to him, grinning a little in triumph. "BE GONE!" and the Keyblade's light expanded into a massive beam of pure light, blasting right at him.

Magneto said, "World of Chaos, main cannon, OPEN FIRE!" and was so desperately to counterattack that he briefly forgot some basic rules of grammar. The dragon-face broke free of the ice and fired a beam of its own, a cylinder-shaped blast of pure darkness. However, it just wasn't good enough, and the light beam cut through it like it was as insubstantial as fog, and it kept going, and Magneto could only watch in disbelief as it pierced through the World of Chaos. Explosions ripped through the World of Chaos, light ripping through it and reducing it to rubble, and one of those mighty cosmic-scaled explosions engulfed Magneto, and he could only scream, "NOOO… NEED… **DARKNESS**…"

And with that, the same explosion nearly caught Heather and her friends. They looked concerned, for a moment, before Heather spread her wings over them to shield them from the shockwaves.


	43. The End of a Journey Is Just the Start

**A.N.:** This was a double update, you must read chapter 42 to understand

* * *

Everything returned to the silence for a while. There was no World of Chaos anymore; the white door remained the same, unscathed. The same purple background of that weird dimension returned to the same state than it always was, now that the light had faded away.

"Is it over?" Donald asked.

"Perhaps…" Heather replied.

"Heather, where are your wings?" Harold queried.

"They disappeared…" she said, trying to look at her back and conceded, "I guess I can't use superpowers all the time."

"I think we must fly to the door, ahyuck." Goofy said.

"You're right, that seems to be the only way now," Harold said, "But I'm glad that Magneto-guy was destroyed. He couldn't finish a sentence without saying 'darkness'! Gosh!"

"This is not truthful."

"Magneto!" they shouted his name as his form appeared in front of them, the same they saw at the first time they met him, while in the illusion, only with just a chunk of his right arm. He just replied with a scornful laughter.

"How are you alive?" Heather said, "You should be dead, that explosion engulfed everything!"

"I managed to escape in the last second, by the power of **darkness**."

"Oh, just great, tell me a story…" she deadpanned.

"But now," he said, turning away from them, "I shall finish your futile efforts, I will now open the door to the supreme **darkness**!"

"Should we go after him?" Goofy asked.

"Nah," Heather just made a sardonic smirk, waving her hand dismissively, and then crossed her arms, "My feminine intuition says he's going to have a surprise."

"Now I will open the door to the **darkness**!" he continued his gloating, someone could tell he looked like an over-excited fangirl in a teenage boy's band show.

"Hey, Magneto!" Heather shouted from where she was; he decided to look at her, just to relish in her face of horror and got flustered when he realized she was calm and cool, "I guess you really opened a door: the door to the **dorkness**!" Her teammates burst in laughter with the mockery.

"Fools of the light! I will be laughing when I open the door," he said, pressing his hands against the door, "KINGDOM HEARTS! FILL ME WITH THE POWER OF **DARKNESS**!"

"You just don't understand," Heather said, without a single trace of doubt in her heart.

"Unlimited **darkness**!" the door opened a little.

"The truth is…"

"Supreme **darkness**!" the door opened more, a dark smoke came out of it.

"Kingdom Hearts is light!"

Magneto finally opened wide the door, only to be filled by an intense and supreme light. "LIGHTS? BUT WHY?" and the light pierced burning the dark lord until it was nothing else.

"Please, guys," Harold said, "Remember me to not say the word 'darkness' for the next few months."

"You betcha!" Donald replied. The group landed on the patch of land that supported the door. Much to their surprise, there were lots of Heartless inside the door. An enormous Darkside emerged in front of some kind of hill. Actually, the hill was a mass of Heartless piled one over other.

"Close it! Now!" Heather ordered and they started to pull the doors.

"It's heavy!" Harold moaned.

"Less complaining, more work!" Donald said.

"Why is it so hard?" Heather said, struggling, "Magneto opened it with just one hand! I can't…"

"Oh, don't tell me you're gonna give up?"

"This voice," Heather stopped to pull to look inside. "LeShawna!" the girl was on the other side, helping them to push the door.

"LeShawna, you're here!" Harold said, making a lovely-dovey expression.

"You bet, sugar!"

"Let me go with you!"

"Sorry, hon, but you can't." she replied, stern, "This side is my side, and this is yours."

"But LeShawna…"

"If you really love me, you can't go with me. This is how I atone, or attempt to…"

"Don't tell me this bullcrap!" Heather replied, flustered.

"It's true, Heather," she said, jerking her thumb at another Darkside emerging in the view, "Besides, there's mor' of that things there. We can't waste time!" trying to control his sobs, Harold continued to pull, and Heather too, with a resigned expression.

They could feel the Darksides approaching them, its darkness distorting the air next to them. When they couldn't do anything, they heard a sound of something cutting through them. The Heartless stood immobile and then turned into dark dust. In the top of the hill, a figure resembling a mouse stood there, pointing a Keyblade to the sky, glowing with a mystical aura.

"Your Majesty!" Donald and Goofy said at the same time.

"Now, Heather," King Mickey shouted, "Let's close this door for once and for all!"

"But, you're going to get stuck!"

"Don't worry," he assured her, "There will always be a door to the light!"

"Heather, he's our king," Goofy said, "You can trust him."

"Okay…" she bit her lip and pointed her Keyblade to the door. The King also did the same and beams came out of the tips of their Keyblades, hitting the door. The radiation glowed on it and the door finally moved to close itself.

"Donald, Goofy, thank you!" the King shouted, before the door closed.

"It's an honor, your majesty!" they both saluted.

"Take care, Harold, Heather," LeShawna said, smiling, also before the door closed, "You did a great job, take care of our friends." They smiled back and the door finally closed for good. Another earthquake started.

"The world must be falling apart." Harold said.

In the infinitude of the space, the royal gummi ship circled the World of the End.

"What's happening?" Duncan said. He, Gwen and Sadie were picked up by Chip and Dale after they defeated the Sentinel.

"They did it." Gwen said, smiling. Sadie jumped of joy as the Heartless homeworld started to crack.

In Traverse Town, its inhabitants cheered as parts of the world started to collapse. Normally this would be something to be afraid, but they knew that this was something good, they finally would return to their home.

After a while, Heather and her teammates were in another dimension. They stood over the ground and, by a distance, they could see Izzy. The redheaded shouted, "Heather, you won!"

"Yeah, I know." She approached her, but there was an abyss forming, separating them.

"Don't worry," Izzy said, with a goofy smile, "You'll find a way to come back! After all, we'll always be together!"

"I know, and please," she shouted as the ground move far away from her, waving her hand, trying to tell what she felt, "Tell DJ I love him!"

"Don't worry, Heather," Izzy said, her eyes tearing up, contrasting with her big grin, as she waved, "See ya later!" Heather's voice became lower and lower as they were separated. The entirety of the Abandoned Lot started to reform itself, with power of an unknown magic, the stars in the skies increased their numbers as the worlds which had been destroyed were reformed to their old condition, now they were freed from the darkness that held them.

In Nowhere, Muriel was reunited with Eustace and Courage and resumed their activities of their quiet live in the farm. Eustace grabbed an ugly giant green mask and scared Courage, to which Muriel replied hitting her pin on her head.

In the Coliseum, Hercules was with Phil, ready for new challenges and any plot by Hades.

In their world, Russell received his most important badge from Carl Fredericksen, finally receiving his recognition as a distinguished scout and all their dogs cheered.

In Far Far Away, Shrek finally married to Fiona and they lived happily ever after, even the Donkey.

In Atlantica, Ariel finally received her father's respect and lived lots of adventures in her world.

In Halloween Town, Jack and the others prepared themselves for the next Halloween, without any troubles, I mean, unexpected troubles, because Jack always had a new dangerous idea, that everyone loved it.

In Glade of Dreams, Rayman protected his people, and an age of peace had its dawn.

In Fortress Intolerance, the X-Men struggle to rebuild their world, where mutants and non-mutants could co-exist peacefully and one of the first projects was to change the name of the castle.

In Muncie Town, Garfield remained the same, eating lots of lasagna with his friends.

In Red Leaf Country, the remaining campers had a party in celebration. Geoff organized it; Beth talked about her adventures with Lindsay, while Tyler played Frisbee with Justin, the sporto accidentally hit him in the face and he exited to see if he hadn't become a hideous creature; Gwen ate her barbecue peacefully, glad she didn't have any Heartless to slay; Duncan did some tricks with his sword, and Ezekiel and Sadie watched him; Sierra also talked to Noah, who was actually in other area, and she was talking, again, with a magic clone. He stood next to Izzy, who watched with glee the sunset.

"Do you think the others will return?" he asked.

"Of course they will. Take Owen, for example: nothing can hurt him, not even if you place a C-4 charge at his face."

"I hope I don't have to meet mrs. CIT again, though," he said, he didn't like Courtney that much, "However I wonder why they didn't come back too."

"I don't think they're dead," the redheaded replied, "Perhaps they're facing the subcreatures of the far lands, with nothing but a plastic chicken and kaboom-things!"

"Eh, right… Chris and Chef also disappeared… how typical…"

"But if there's something I know is that Heather will return."

"Yep, that girl is too crafty to not stay in the shadows."

Meanwhile, also in Red Leaf Country, Heather's mother cleaned her daughter's room. She knew she would be away for a really long time, but she made her best to keep her things in order. There was a portrait of her, beside her bed. It wasn't a good portrait, because of her frown she did when taking the photo. However, when she looked, to dust it off, she realized that she was smiling in the portrait. She grabbed it and hugged, letting tears of emotion run through her face. Her daughter was finally happy. In the outside, sitting on a branch, a cloaked figure watched the scene. After she saw it, she opened a white and black portal and walked through it.

Time passes and goes. The scene is a plain, cut by a road, with trees and bushes at the sides. There, Heather, Harold, Donald and Goofy walked their way back their home.

"Well, what do we do now?" Donald asked.

"It's simple," Heather replied, "We'll go find LeShawna, the King and other people. Magneto messed a lot with the worlds."

"I just thought of something," Harold said, "If his name is Magneto, with he didn't use magnetic powers while fighting us, huh?"

"I don't know, perhaps he dumped them for darkness," Heather shook her head, "Argh, I don't want to hear this word."

"Neither I, but I still think this to be really strange…"

"So, let's focus on this door to the light," Goofy said, "I'm sure we can find them through this door." At that moment, the King's dog, Pluto, appeared, siting in the middle of the road.

"Pluto? Where have you been?" Donald asked, remembering they had let him go in Traverse Town.

"He's holding something." Goofy observed, looking at the letter at his mouth. The dog looked at them and ran away, through the yellow road.

"Oh, just great," Heather said, "Now we'll have to go after him."

"Last one pays the ice cream!" Harold said, running as fast as he could, with Donald and Goofy following suit.

"Hey, that's not fair." She frowned at first, but her frown quickly became a smile, and she also ran after the dog. She was happy, indeed.

"Isn't it fabulous, Chef?" Chris said, spreading his arms, watching the scene.

"Whatever…" he replied, in his normal unfriendly tone, holding the camera.

"Heather's journey still has lots of things to do, and we will be recording everything! We must fulfill our role."

"Whatever…"

"Go, Chef, go!" Chris said, also running behind them. The subordinate just sighed and followed his boss.

_And remember, Heather,_ the mysterious voice echoed in her mind and in the infinitude,_ "You are the one who will open the door to the light._

The End

* * *

**A.N.:** And that's what happen when I watch too much Gurren Lagann. I can't believe it's finally done (and it's Friday 13th). Two years ago, when I started this story, I wrote following others stories. In that time, it seemed a good idea to me, and I'd have my own twist, using Heather, hardly a hero and to make an experiment in character development. If I were writing it today, I'd do lots of things differently, I'd go not for a simple remake, but for something completely new. For this reason, and others, I won't be doing the sequels, I believe this more than enough. Writing this fic really helped me to improve my English, my writing skills and my patience. And I hope to have added something for you too.

First, I'd like to thank all my readers, because it's so good when you give of your valuable time to read my tale, and I hope to have met your expectations. Many, many thanks for my loyal reviewers, you guys were the inspiration for keep me writing to end, especially the ones who were loyal since the beginning, two years ago, **blueflower1594, ckelef1, ozsanlol, Angelus-Alvus** and everyone that reviewed! If I had place everyone here, it'd be too big of a space, but don't feel minimized, because I respect everyone of you, it's just that the one I cited I consider my best pals on the site.

Have a nice 2012!

* * *

"That was good!" Space Ghost said, munching at his popcorn; it was the sixth refil. He was with Zorak and Moltar in the theather, at the first seats.

"Bah, there was nothing new," Zorak scorned, "It's all the same plots we see in the Cartoon X-over section, just copy-paste the dialogue and call it literature! Is it too hard to ask for a little of originality?"

"C'mon, I think there was new stuff," the masked superhero/salesman replied, "I liked how Heather went from bad to good guy."

"I liked the explosions." Moltar said, sipping his milkshake through his mask by the straw.

"There was something you must have liked, Zorak." Space Ghost commented.

"Okay, Maleficent was awesome, I wish I could marry her, Magneto was deliciously evil, but why he didn't use magnetic powers?" Zorak said, raising his eyebrow. "Effing magnets, how do they work?"

"And people call me lame..." Space Ghost shook his head, "Wait, there wasn't something like an ending movie after the credits? A cliffhanger for the sequel."

"There won't be a sequel," Moltar said, stopping to sip again his milkshake, "I read in the author's note."

"If there won't be a sequel, then why is the movie starting?"

"Because the author is a-" before the pyro could finish the phrase, the screen turned on: it was a city, with enormous skyscrapers, all its lights were turned on. They illuminated the dark city, but there was no single person on the streets. It rained, but the clouds barely covered the moon, shaped in the form of a heart. In the tallest building, there was a figure, clad in a dark cloak. It resembled LeShawna, however her eyes were covered by a bandage.

Suddenly she turned to the plaza in front of the building. Heartless emerged from the shadows, with humanoid shapes and really long antennae. They all disappeared in a glance, turning into dark dust. The rain stopped and the skies cleared. From their remains, another cloaked figured walked to the center of the plaza. The hood covered her head, only showed from below the nose; it was clear that was a woman, definitely feminine traits like the smooth lines and the lips covered with the paint of red lipstick and the short tufts of blonde hair that were barely visible. She summoned two Keyblades, one dark, the Oblivion and one light, the Promise Keeper. The figure in the top of the building tilted her head and removed her bandage. The cloaked figure in the plaza talked one sentence that echoed through the entirety of the district.

"Where is Heather?"

* * *

**A.N.:** And forget everything I said: the sequel is being written by Ckelef1, but it's still being published under my penname. Check out for _Descent into Oblivion_, in the section "My Stories" of my profile.


End file.
